Guan Eng says won’t testify in Najib’s case against IRB, since never signed up for amnesty plan

KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 — Former finance minister Lim Guan Eng today said that he will not testify in court for Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s case against the Inland Revenue Board (IRB), over RM1.7 billion in unpaid taxes the former prime minister is said to owe from 2011 to 2017 in relation to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.

In a statement today, Lim said Najib was trying to take advantage of what he had said yesterday when he criticised the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government’s U-turn on the special voluntary disclosure programme (SVDP) or tax amnesty programme initiated during his tenure as finance minister.

“Najib posted on his Facebook wanting me to testify in his court case against LHDN over RM1.7 billion in unpaid taxes he owed in relation to the 1MDB scandal,” Lim said using the Malay acronym for the IRB.

“Najib’s case was adjudged based on existing tax policies and laws adopted during his administration and his tenure as finance minister.

“Najib did not participate in any tax amnesty programme during PH’s administration. How then can I testify as a witness on his behalf?”

Yesterday, the DAP secretary-general criticised the PN government for breaking the written promise by investigating past taxes already disclosed and paid up by those who had participated in the tax amnesty programme.

He had said that the “U-turn” made by the present government would not stand in court and he was willing to be called in as a witness if taxpayers dragged the government to court for its alleged turnaround of the SVDP programme.

The SVDP was introduced by the Pakatan Harapan government in 2018, when Lim was finance minister.

Lim said whether there is indeed an Arab donor for Najib for such a massive contribution or if the monies were actually returned to the recipient or the identity of the actual beneficiary will be revealed in due course in Najib’s court case.

“I will definitely be unable to ‘assist’ him on tax policies that were not amended during my time as finance minister.

“If Najib is so interested in amendments on tax policies, then he should be critical of the latest amendments by the PN government that is grossly unfair to taxpayers,” he added.

Yesterday, Najib on his Facebook post said he wants Lim to testify in his court case against LHDN since he criticised the “U-turn” of the amnesty programme by the government agency.

“I want Guan Eng to tell the judge why during his tenure as finance minister, LHDN considered the RM2.6 billion in personal donations, which had been subsequently returned, as income,” he had said in the Facebook post.

The former prime minister also said he was fined RM1.7 billion by LHDN over this deposit with the tax rate being calculated as 26 per cent +40 per cent +10 per cent +5 per cent in accumulated penalties.

The RM2.6 billion deposited into Najib’s personal Ambank accounts was confirmed in his SRC and 1MDB-Tanore court hearings to have been returned to the sender four months after it was deposited.

In July last year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court allowed LHDN to proceed with a summary judgment to recover RM1.69 billion from the sum which Najib claimed he had returned four months after receiving it in 2013.

In October, Najib appealed against the decision.

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