The Malaysian Insight

THE opposition today questioned if Pekan MP Najib Razak and his family would be allowed to get away with not paying their tax arrears as the balance of power continued to shift. 

RSN Rayer (Jelutong-PH) raised the matter today in parliament when the proposal to amend the finance bill was presented. 

“If possible, I recommend Pekan (Najib) repays the tax owed to the people, to the government. I raise this matter for the people’s sake. ,” he said.

Rayer said the people were worried the the amendment would cause the government to become more dependent on the sales and services tax, which was an uncertain source of revenue at this time as people were losing their jobs and not inclined to spend.

Rayer said there were concerns the prime minister would be overly reliant on certain factions for support, considering that the Budget 2021 was passed by a mere three votes.

“We are afraid that there will be a compromise because Pagoh (Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin) depends on Pekan’s support.

“Will this amendment benefit some MPs in this hall who face charges in court? I want an explanation,” said Rayer.

Deputy Finance Minister II Mohd Shahar Abdullah told Rayer he was speaking “out-of-context”.

“Who owes taxes has to pay taxes, but we surrender that decision to the courts,” Shahar said.

Shahar (Paya Besar-BN) said the proposed amendments took care of the people’s welfare and focused on new methods to earn revenue for the government without creating new taxes.

The PH government last year filed a suit against Najib over his failure to pay the Inland Revenue Board RM1.69 billion in unpaid taxes for the years 2011 to 2017. 

Najib’s son, Mohd Nazifuddin Najib, was slapped with a RM37.6 million suit after failing to settle his taxes while Najib’s daughter, Nooryana Najwa, owes RM10.3 million in unpaid income tax. – December 16, 2020.