When the 7th PM was charged over corruption allegations, he said he had no power to approve any government projects during his tenure as prime minister, and the power was under the purview of the Ministry of Finance (MoF).
He was quoted to have said:-
1. He has never given the instruction to the MOF, or influenced the latter’s decision in relation with Jana Wibawa and he did not commit any wrongdoing in the eyes of the law,
2. He was not the one that had the power to approve any government project. The power to approve government projects is under the purview of the MOF,
3. He only executed the decision of the Cabinet, which required the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to forward the request for projects to be considered by MOF in accordance with the rules and regulations in place
On the charge of abuse of power for having asked the MOF to review the termination of tax exemption for charity foundation Yayasan Albukhary, he said after Pakatan Harapan took power in May 2018, the Inland Revenue Board refused to implement the tax exemption granted under section 127(3A) of the Income Tax Act 1967 earlier by the government led by the BN coalition by reimposing the tax along with a 45% tax penalty on the foundation.
The 7th PM said since Lim Guan Eng was the Finance Minister then and the Inland Revenue Board is under MOF. The Finance Minister, therefore, is deemed responsible for the decision to reimpose taxes and penalties of 45% on Yayasan Albukhary.
When he became the 7th PM, Syed Mokhtar from Yayasan Albukhary appealed to him against the termination. The 7th PM said he minuted "please review this appeal. If it is orderly, I have no objection." The appeal was reviewed by MOF and the Inland Revenue Board and subsequently approved.
Based on his statement, the 7th PM summarily confirmed the following:-
1. It was the Inland Revenue Board that refused to implement the tax exemption granted under section 127(3A) of the Income Tax Act 1967 and it was NOT based on an instruction from the Finance Minister, Lim Guan Eng
2. It was also the Inland Revenue Board and the Ministry of Finance that agreed and approved for the tax exemption to be reinstated during his tenure as the Prime Minister
The 7th PM did not offer or show any proof that the Inland Revenue Board’s refusal to implement the tax exemption granted earlier was referred and agreed upon or it was an instruction from the Finance Minister, Lim Guan Eng to the Inland Revenue Board.
Using the same rationale, the 7th PM should offer or show proof that after the review by MOF and the Inland Revenue Board upon receiving his minute, it was the Finance Minister, Tengku Zafrul who agreed and approved the tax exemption to be reinstated and not the Inland Revenue Board that agreed to implement the exemption.
The obvious difference between both was that in the earlier instance, until shown proof of otherwise, it was the Inland Revenue Board that refused to implement the tax exemption while in the latter instance, the Inland Revenue Board and the Ministry of Finance agreed to reinstate it after receiving a note from the 7th PM saying if orderly, he has no objection.
Based on the 7th PM’s explanation that Lim Guan Eng is deemed responsible by virtue that the Inland Revenue Board is under the purview of MOF, Tengku Zafrul who was the Finance Minister is deemed responsible for agreeing and approving for the reinstatement of the tax exemption.
The 7th PM explained that he has “never given instruction” to the MOF, or influenced the latter’s decision in relation with Jana Wibawa as the power to approve government projects is under the purview of the MOF.
Using the same logic that he said the Finance Minister is responsible for the Inland Revenue Board’s refusal to implement the tax exemption, as the Prime Minister to whom the Finance Minister reports to, he should also be held responsible for all decisions in relation with Jana Wibawa even though it is under the purview of the MOF.
In explaining his role in the acts that he was charged with, the 7th PM is saying what is good for the goose is not good for the gander.
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