PAC to conclude proceedings on missing GST refunds before parliament session ends

KUALA LUMPUR: The Public Accounts Committee ( PAC) hopes to conclude its proceedings on the missing Goods and Services Tax ( GST) refunds of RM19.4 billion before the current Parliament session ends in December.

Its chairman, Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee, said right now, the committee still had to call several other witnesses to complete the proceedings before tabling its conclusion to the Parliament.

“On the GST refunds, we hope to conclude our proceedings before the end of the current Parliament session, and after calling the last witness, we will come out with a conclusion and table it to the Parliament,” he told reporters after former Treasury secretary- general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah testified before the PAC here yesterday.

Meanwhile, PAC deputy chairman Wong Kah Woh said Mohd Irwan Serigar had testified twice and had provided sufficient information on the issue to the PAC.

He said Customs directorgeneral Datuk Seri T. Subromaniam had also been summoned to testify before the PAC yesterday, while former Prime Minister Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is also former Finance Minister, to testify today.

“After that, we will have another date for Najib and from there we will conclude the proceedings for GST refunds,” he said.

The current session of the Parliament began on Oct 15 and will end on Dec 11.

In another development, Kiandee said the PAC proceedings with regard to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) would begin on Oct 29 with former Auditor- General Tan Sri Ambrin Buang to be the first witness to be called to testify.

“We have a list of 20 witnesses. It’s going to be a long proceedings,” he added. — Bernama