LIM Guan Eng has denied that he cancelled the tax exemption granted to the Albukhary Foundation during his time as finance minister as claimed by former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
According to the DAP national chairman, he may consider taking legal action against Muhyiddin should the Pagoh MP fail to provide evidence to support his claims.
“I want to state that I have never issued any specific instructions to cancel the tax exemption given by the BN government to the Albukhary Foundation which is headed by Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary.
“Can Muhyiddin show any letters where I issued the instructions as finance minister to cancel the tax exemption for the Albukhary Foundation?
“If he fails to do so, I will get legal advice on Muhyiddin’s malicious lies against me, seeing as it also involves a corruption charge which will be tried in court in the future,” Lim said in a statement last night (March 9).
Muhyiddin was called up to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) yesterday to give his statement, and among the issues raised by the graft-busting agency was an appeal against the cancellation of the Albukhary Foundation’s tax exemption.
After the questioning, he told reporters that he would be charged with abuse of power for re-granting the tax exemption given to the foundation by the former Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
The Pagoh MP claimed at the time that the tax exemption was revoked by then-finance minister Lim after Pakatan Harapan (PH) assumed power in 2018.
Muhyiddin said when he became prime minister after the Harapan government fell, Syed Mokhtar had appealed to him to lift the cancellation.
Aside from that, the graft-busting agency also questioned the Bersatu chairman about the Jana Ekonomi Pemerkasaan Kontraktor Bumiputera Berwibawa (Jana Wibawa) programme.
The Jana Wibawa programme was launched by the Muhyiddin administration as part of the COVID-19 pandemic stimulus initiative to assist Bumiputera contractors.
Since mid-February, several other Bersatu leaders, including Bersatu information chief Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan and Segambut Bersatu deputy chief Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad, have been accused of being affiliated with the Jana Wibawa project. — March 10, 2023
Main photo credit: Bernama
