NAJIB ANSWERS ‘NO’ TO LIM’S QUESTIONS

Finance minister smart for not lodging report against BN on GST, says ex-PM

FORMER prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has responded to the three questions put forward by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng last week.

Najib said the answers were “no” to all three questions, according to a statement on his Facebook page.

“For all three questions addressed to me by Lim on the recent GST (Goods and Services Tax) issue, my answer is ‘no, no and no’,” he said.

Lim, who is Bagan member of parliament, had questioned Najib over the loss of RM19.25 billion in GST refund claims.

Lim’s first question was whether Najib had approved the decision not to pay the tax refunds within two weeks as stipulated under the law.

Secondly, Lim asked whether Najib approved the decision made by former Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Irwan Serigar Abdullah to not transfer the full amount of RM82.9 billion as requested by the Customs Department, but to transfer only RM63.5 billion since 2015.

The third question was whether Najib approved for the non-refundable GST repayment amount since 2015 to be considered government revenue to be used for various purposes.

Najib said Lim was wise for not lodging a report against Barisan Nasional based on allegations that it had robbed GST monies.

“I was informed that Lim was asked to give a statement to police based on a report made by Rembau member of parliament Khairy Jamaluddin.

“Lim did not lodge a police report on his claim that BN had ‘robbed’ RM18 billion of GST money during a parliamentary session that gave him immunity.

“This is a clever move by Lim, as lodging a false police report is unlawful.”

BERNAMA PIC Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin greeting people at a Women’s Day event in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. With her is National Council of Women’s Organisations president Professor Emerita Tan Sri Dr Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin (right).