PETALING JAYA: PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli today refuted claims he had misused public funds to enrich himself.
He said he had made RM2 million by the time he was 30 years old working in the oil and gas industry.
He also criticised those who disputed the value of the assets he owned.
Rafizi said a large part of the RM18.9 million he declared represented the value of the shares in Invoke Solutions Sdn Bhd (Invoke), a data firm he founded in 2016.
He said he did not need to use public funds for personal interests as he had already become a millionaire at the age of 30 while working in Petronas.
"At the age of 26, my starting salary at Petronas was RM3,750. After six months when I was confirmed as a manager my salary rose to RM11,000 a month and a year later, I was promoted to head of the Petrochemical Planning Division with a salary of RM25,000 a month.
"At the same time, Petronas shortened the service period and retirement age from 60 years to 55, so I was paid RM400,000 in compensation at the age of 29 for the shortened years of service.
"I was also in the oil and gas industry when oil prices rose sharply and the annual bonus was huge. During my seven years at Petronas, my average annual bonus was between 10 and 12 months a year.
"That's why I had savings that reached RM2 million by the age of 30 and these savings were used to start a company."
He claimed that as an outspoken figure of the opposition, he would have long been investigated and charged in court by the Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional governments if he had committed fraud or misappropriated funds.
"(I would have been investigated) just as Datuk Seri Najib Razak was charged for offences involving the Inland Revenue Board," he told a press conference at the party headquarters here today.
He was responding to claims by Batu Pahat Perikatan Nasional candidate Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon, who asked whether Rafizi's wealth, which is close to RM18.9 million, was built using public funds before the 14th General Election.
The claims were based on Rafizi's fundraising campaign for PH in 2014.
Rafizi admitted to collecting public funds of some RM11 million up to 2018, which included money from the sale of souvenirs and Invoke user subscriptions.
However, he said, the funds had already been used in PKR candidates' campaigns, including Rashid's in Batu Pahat.
"When GE14 concluded and all proceeds were fully spent, I had no other choice but to change the Invoke model to a commercial one and issue new shares to investors to enable Invoke's staff of 150 to be maintained.
"All these records, including my salary and income as well as Invoke's financial and taxation statements, are with the authorities," he said.
Rafizi said those who disputed the value of Invoke's shares, as the start-up had allegedly incurred losses, were not well versed in financial reports.
He said Invoke's loss was only at the group level.
"Invoke's subsidiaries that were assessed for property declaration recorded a profit every year since 2020, and only once recorded a loss, which was in 2019.
"Invoke's profit in financial year 2020 is RM507,000, RM653,000 in 2021 and the expected profit for financial year 2022 is RM1.5 million.
"Invoke's last share issue this year was valued at RM75 million.This is actually lower than the official value given by Cradle, a government agency, which values Invoke at RM105 million."