OPEN A CAN OF WORMS?
Lim Guan Eng seeks to revive 1MDB probes, make findings public. Will it ...
THE finance minister is expected to table a motion in the Dewan Rakyat today for the Auditor General and the Public Accounts Committee to reopen investigations, and for the findings to be made public. Legal experts say this will only strengthen police and MACC investigations into the case.
PAC HAS YET TO DECIDE WHETHER TO GET THE FORMER PRIME MINISTER TO HELP IN ITS PROBE
NAJIB RAZAK SAYS HE WON’T OBJECT IF PAC MOVES TO REOPEN PROBE, AS LONG AS IT’S NOT TO ‘FIND FAULT’
THE Pakatan Harapan government is committed to returning the Goods and Services Tax (GST) refunds that were improperly or even “illegally” withheld by the previous government, beginning next year, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.
He said the commitment was being made despite the huge amount of refunds involved.
Apart from the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and related financial scandals, Lim, in a revelation recently, disclosed that up to May 31, the previous government withheld GST refund payments amounting to RM19.4 billion.
He said some of these refunds stretched as far back as 2015 and deserved answers from former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
“The government faces a shortfall of RM19.25 billion as there is only RM148.6 million in the GST Refunds Trust account, when it should be RM19.4 billion.”
He said the shortfall was confirmed by Customs director-general Datuk Seri T. Subromaniam.
The Customs Department had requested from the monthly Trust Fund Committee meetings that RM82.9 billion be transferred to the GST Refunds Trust account, but only RM63.5 billion was effected, giving rise to the shortfall of RM19.25 billion.
This also led to 121,429 companies and individuals not getting their tax refunds since 2015.
Former treasury secretarygeneral Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah chaired the monthly Trust Fund Committee meetings since 2015.
Lim said while decisions were made by Irwan, Najib had a critical role to play as finance minister.
“Did Najib authorise that GST refunds not be made in two weeks as required by the law? Did he approve the decision by Irwan not to transfer the full RM82.9 billion as requested by Customs, but only RM63.5 billion or a shortfall of RM19.25 billion to the GST Refunds Trust Account?
“And did the former prime minister approve the GST refunds, which were recognised instead as government revenue, to be used as the government pleases?”
Lim said Irwan was responsible for the 121,429 companies and individuals not receiving their GST refunds and his decision must have been approved by then finance minister Najib.
“It is, therefore, imperative that Najib account for his role to 121,429 companies and individuals, or the missing funds from the GST Refunds Trust account, by answering these questions,” he said.