KUALA LUMPUR – Puchong MP Yeo Bee Yin has spoken in support of Malaysia’s RM1.1 billion semiconductor collaboration with UK-based Arm Holdings, dismissing allegations of impropriety. She rejected claims that Rafizi Ramli — who oversaw the deal during his tenure as Economy Minister — or his team personally benefited from the agreement.
In a statement shared on her Facebook page, Yeo explained that her comments in Parliament regarding the agreement were made from a policy and strategic perspective. She stressed that her disagreement was not intended to suggest any corruption or personal gain.
“As a policymaker, I spoke in Parliament to express my disagreement and my hope that the government would reconsider the ARM deal—primarily concerning matters of policy and strategy,” Yeo said.
Yeo further condemned the accusations that Rafizi and his team had profited personally from the deal, calling them “far-fetched.”
“The suggestion that Rafizi and his team derived personal gain from this deal is baseless,” she added.
The Puchong MP also rejected comparisons between the ARM deal and the notorious 1MDB scandal, calling such comparisons unrealistic.
“To equate the ARM deal with 1MDB is like a ‘cerita dongeng’ – a fairy tale that no rational person could believe,” Yeo remarked.
Yeo also expressed concern about the treatment of former economy ministerial aide Chai Jin Shern, better known as James Chai, who has faced public humiliation.
“Worse still, we are seeing the state apparatus used to publicly humiliate people like James – a young, well-educated, and idealistic Malaysian,” she said, adding that no citizen should be treated unfairly.
She questioned whether the current government was in danger of adopting the same practices it once opposed.
“In moments like these, I can’t help but ask: have we morphed into the very government we once despised and fought against?” Yeo remarked.
Despite these concerns, Yeo expressed hope that Malaysia’s political landscape could still evolve for the better.
“I still want to believe that we can do better than this, that we can cultivate a new politics for Malaysia, and that our nation can still shine as a beacon of light in a distracted world,” she said.
Yeo also urged young Malaysians not to lose faith in the country’s future, citing James Chai’s earlier statement about his commitment to serving the nation.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has since issued a Notice of Trace in an effort to locate Chai.
Chai, a University of Oxford graduate in law and technology, was among the key individuals appointed by Rafizi to assist with his duties.
In a subsequent statement, James Chai reiterated that he had neither influenced nor profited from the government’s RM1.1 billion semiconductor collaboration with Arm Holdings. – March 5, 2026