The Malaysian Insight

THE Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) report on the “missing” goods and services tax (GST) refunds confirms that Barisan Nasional did not “rob” government coffers, Najib Razak said today.

The former prime minister said he felt redeemed by the PAC report released yesterday.

“I feel vindicated by the report that no robbery or misappropriation of funds was committed in the collection of GST.

“We had acted on the advice of government officers, including the auditor-general and Finance Ministry officials, that the money could be administered by putting it in the consolidated fund first,” Najib said at the Parliament lobby today.

Najib, who is also Pekan MP, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had “lied” in claiming that BN “robbed” the country in revealing that RM19.4 billion in GST refunds had gone “missing” last August.

Najib said action should be taken against Lim for slander and for lying in the Dewan Rakyat.

“What Guan Eng did was he lied in the Dewan Rakyat. He made a very serious allegation. As the opposition, BN has asked that he be referred to the Rights and Privileges Committee.”

The PAC’s findings that the GST refunds had been moved from the trust account meant for refunds into the federal consolidated fund for other expenses was, however, deemed illegal by Attorney-General Tommy Thomas, the committee said in its report yesterday.

Lim’s choice of words in saying that BN had “robbed” the government when disclosing the missing amount to the Dewan Rakyat last year had prompted the PAC investigation into the matter, as well as a police report by an Umno lawmaker. – July 16, 2019.