DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng will be suing Perikatan Nasional (PN) information chief Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali for defamation after the latter made allegedly false statements against the former.
On Sunday (Nov 12), Azmin alleged that Lim “used” the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) when he was finance minister previously to “chase down all companies linked to the MCA”.
“He shouldn’t have done that,” the News Straits Times (NST) quoted Azmin as saying during an election dialogue in Padang Serai, Kedah. “All these companies, regardless (if they are led by) Chinese or Malays, have contributed to the Malaysian economy.
“Why use government agencies to put pressure on the companies? If (they) didn’t pay their tax dues, deal with it properly, but don’t be langsi (arrogant).”
In a statement today, Lim said he has never used the IRB to target Chinese businessmen, and despite him repeatedly asking Azmin to show proof, the latter purportedly failed to do so.
Lim also cited other remarks by Azmin that were considered defamatory, such as the latter’s claim that the former tried to “sabotage” Bumiputera agencies such as private equity fund management company Ekuinas when in government.
“Up to now, he has failed to show proof to back up his wild claims,” Lim noted.
“Since he continues to repeat these false facts without showing any proof, I have no choice but to instruct my lawyers to take action immediately.”
“Desperate to shed off traitor label”
As one of the “principal architects” of the Sheraton Move of 2020 – which brought down the democratically-elected Pakatan Harapan (PH) Government – Lim said Azmin, a former PH leader, has been “desperate in unsuccessfully trying to shed his ‘traitor’” label.
This is why, according to Lim, Azmin has chosen to “target” the incumbent Bagan MP by making “unprovoked personal attacks with lies that are published in the MCA- and government-controlled papers.”
“I had previously sued and won a defamation action in court on a related matter where I was defamed for allegedly abusing my powers as finance minister in 2019,” Lim noted further.
“A businessman supporter of the current government insinuated that the taxman went after him after being instigated by me.”
Lim noted that new taxes have been introduced by the Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob government, such as the windfall tax (to be introduced this year) and a 10% sales tax for online purchases of foreign low-value goods below RM500 and profits earned overseas brought in by Malaysian companies (slated for implementation next year).
According to Lim, there is a fear that salaries or wages earned by individuals, particularly those from Singapore, will also be subject to a similar tax should Ismail’s government retain power once more after the 15th General Elections (GE15) this Saturday (Nov 19).
However, Lim said all these taxes have nothing to do with him.
“When I was finance minister, I reduced the tax on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from 18% to 17% and increased the income threshold from RM500,000 to RM600,000,” he recalled.
“In other words, the first RM600,000 chargeable income will be imposed an SME tax of 17% and any income above RM600,000 will be subject to the corporate tax rate of 24%.”
Meanwhile, Lim said he is also mooting filing defamation proceedings against PN chairman and former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for “similar and related false statements” against him that were made recently. He did not specify what these statements were. – Nov 17, 2022
Main photo credit: Malay Mail
