PAC to wrap up ‘missing’ GST credit refund probe soon

THE Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is expected to wrap up its probe on the “missing” RM19.4bil Goods and Services Tax (GST) credit refund controversy by next week.

“There are a few more things to tie up with the Audit Department, and hopefully we can table the report in Parliament by next week,” PAC deputy chairman Wong Kah Woh said at the Parliament lobby.

Last August, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng dropped a bombshell when he told the Dewan Rakyat that the previous government had not been able to refund companies their tax credit from the GST, saying 93% of the money was not placed in the correct account.

Lim claimed then that some RM18bil of the RM19.4bil input tax credit under the GST was “robbed” by the previous administration.

Wong also said the PAC would begin its probe into the land swap deals involving the Defence Ministry that resulted in losses amounting to RM258mil to the government.

“The deal involved Mindef purchasing land in Paloh at a high market rate and later swapping it for a plot in Selangor at a lower rate.

“This resulted in a double loss for Mindef and the government,” he said.

Besides the land swap deal in Selangor, Wong said the PAC was also looking at a deal involving land in Negri Sembilan.

He said the PAC would be calling former auditor-general Tan Sri Ambrin Buang to shed more light on the land swap deals before beginning the probe.

Meanwhile, the House was told that 418 civil servants were arrested by the Malaysian-Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) last year.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohamed Hanipa Maidin said of these, 140 of them had been hauled to court to face charges.

He was replying to Datuk Seri Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz (PH-Tanah Merah) who asked for the figures.

To a question on whether the government had any intention of limiting the time a civil servant is allowed to hold a particular position to avoid corruption, Hanipa said there was no such plan as of now.

“Although we admit that there is justification for such a move, we feel that the situation now is under control,” he said