PETALING JAYA, Nov 7 — PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli today hit back at Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) members who criticised his company Invoke Solutions Sdn Bhd after he declared his assets as part of his party’s general election campaign pledge.

The Pandan parliamentary hopeful said that he was glad to be given the opportunity to expose the hypocrisy and ignorance of his critics who lacked the courage to declare their own assets.

"Next time, go to school and learn how to read financial statements before you make a fool of yourself,” he said during a press conference at PKR headquarters today.

He asserted that his company’s profits in 2018 were used to fund the campaigns of PKR candidates in the 14th general election (GE14) that Pakatan Harapan went on to win.

Among these candidates was Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon who defected to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), he noted when singling the former out as a particularly loud critic.

"If you don’t want to declare, just shut up,” he said, adding it was clear their criticism was meant to distract from the fact that his rivals were unwilling to declare their own wealth.

Rafizi further said he was trying to educate Malaysia’s youth that the best way to generate wealth was by building up a competitive company capable of attracting international investors, and not by embezzling public funds.

"Kids that want to be rich, they think they have to join Umno so that they get projects. I want to prove that you don’t have to do that,” he said.

Rafizi also denounced PN and its chairman, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, for claiming integrity and stability as part of the coalition’s platform, alleging the former prime minister reneged on various promises during his term, during which two major defence procurement scandals also erupted.

He accused Muhyiddin of failing to lead the country effectively during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, claiming this resulted in unnecessary deaths from the coronavirus and economic losses the movement control orders enforced to contain it.

"The miserable period will be remembered forever by the #BenderaPutih and #KitaJagaKita campaigns, in which the people were forced to help each other during a time of need to lighten the burden of the country’s poorest,” he said, urging voters to remember this at the ballot box.