SHAFEE: NAJIB STANDS TO LOSE ALL
Political career and properties at stake if bankruptcy action proceeds against him, says lawyer
DATUK Seri Najib Razak’s political career and the properties he owns are at stake if a bankruptcy action against him proceeds, the former prime minister’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said.
The senior counsel said this in the hearing of a stay application of the High Court’s order on July 22, last year, for Najib to pay RM1. 69 billion in additional income tax arrears to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB).
The board, had on Feb 4, issued a bankruptcy notice against Najib following the Pekan member of parliament’s (MP) failure to pay the sum.
Shafee said if a bankruptcy order was granted, his client would lose everything.
“He is an MP, he will lose everything, his pension, his properties would be auctioned in order for all this to be executed.
“This will never be reversible,” he said.
Shafee added that if a stay of the execution of the order was not granted, Najib would not be able to revert himself to a position that he was before the judgment.
He said his client, who has been in politics since 1976, would also stand to lose his right to contest in elections.
“Because once you are a bankrupt, you lose everything and it is an irreparable damage,” he said.
Apart from that, Shafee said the IRB had not justified the “astronomical” amount that it demanded from his client and that there was a serious error on the computation.
He said Najib ought to be given the fullest latitude to argue against the amount which was imposed on him through his appeal at the Court of Appeal and his tax assessment matter pending before the Special Commissioner of Income Tax (SCIT).
“We are only asking for a stay of the order until certain things are resolved,” he said.
Meanwhile, senior revenue counsel Norhisham Ahmad said since the summary judgment was entered into last year, nothing had been done by the defendant (Najib) in order to discuss about the payment.
He said since the board had obtained a summary judgment, there was no need for a review of the tax assessment.
“It is normal that once we obtain the judgment, we have to proceed with the execution.
“From the date of the order on July 22, 2020, we only served the bankruptcy notice on Feb 4, this year,” Norhisham said.
On the issue of “political interference” in the IRB’s bankruptcy proceedings against Najib, Norhisham said there was none as the board had treated other taxpayers similarly.
“It is not about political interference as we waited since July last year for a proposal to resolve the issue,” he said.
After hearing the submissions in the proceeding, which was conducted via Zoom, judge Datuk Ahmad Bache fixed Monday (June 14) to deliver his decision on the stay bid.
On July 22, last year, the court allowed IRB’s application for a summary judgment to be entered against Najib compelling him to pay RM1.69 billion in income tax arrears. Najib subsequently filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal against the court’s decision.
The appeal has been set for hearing on June 16.
On June 25, 2019, the government, through the IRB, filed the suit against Najib, asking him to settle the unpaid tax with interest at five per cent a year from the date of judgment, as well as costs and other relief deemed fit by the court.
The government claimed that Najib had failed to pay his income tax from 2011 to 2017 within the stipulated 30-day period after assessment notices were issued by the IRB.