KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 — Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal has committed the offence of lodging a false police report yesterday, DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng said today.

Lim shot back at Wan Ahmad Fayhsal, who had yesterday lodged a police report to urge the police to probe both Lim and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim over Yayasan Albukhary’s tax exemption status.

Lim said lodging a false police report is an offence under Section 182 of the Penal Code. Section 182 which involves the giving of false information to cause a public servant to use lawful power against another person is punishable by a maximum six-month jail term or a maximum RM2,000 fine or both.

Saying that Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had made the "false allegation” that Lim had as finance minister previously revoked Yayasan Albukhary’s tax exemption status, the DAP lawmaker said Anwar had spoken the truth in Parliament when saying that the Finance Ministry records showed that Lim had never revoked the tax-exempt status throughout his tenure as finance minister from May 2018 to February 2020.

"This is supported by the failure of Muhyiddin to show proof or produce such a revocation letter from me when I was finance minister,” Lim said in a statement today.

Lim said Anwar was correct to state that it is the Inland Revenue Board’s (IRB) director-general who has powers to revoke tax exempt status, and not the prime minister or finance minister.

While Wan Ahmad Fayhsal yesterday accused Anwar of lying and cited the Income Tax Act’s Section 44(6B) as proof that Anwar’s remarks were wrong, Lim said this instead showed Wan Ahmad Fayhsal’s ignorance.

Under Section 44(6B), appeals on the IRB director-general’s decisions can be made to the finance minister within 30 days of being informed about the decision, and the minister can then make any decision as he considers fit.

Lim said Yayasan Albukhary did not make any appeals to him when he was finance minister, and that there was no revoking of the foundation’s tax-exempt status when he was finance minister.

"Wan Fayhsal shows his ignorance and lack of knowledge about economic, financial or taxation matters when section 44(6B) refers to appeals to the Minister and not the Minister initiating revocation of tax-exempt status.

"I had not seen the file of Albukhary Foundation when I was finance minister and was in no position to decide on any appeal since none was made by Albukhary Foundation to me,” the Bagan MP said.

"Clearly there was no revocation of Albukhary Foundation’s tax-exempt status when I was finance minister. This raises the question whether there was any revocation at all of Albukhary Foundation tax-exempt status as claimed by Muhyiddin. If there was such a revocation, then it can only be done during Muhyiddin’s tenure as prime minister.

"Wan Fayhsal should persuade Muhyiddin to show any letters of revocation by me to the Albukhary Foundation. If Muhyiddin fails to do so, then both Muhyiddin and Wan Fayhsal are making an empty claim that is baseless and false,” he said.

Pointing out that he had already initiated criminal and civil legal action against Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Muhyiddin over his remarks on the Yayasan Albukhary matter, Lim said: "Wan Fayhsal should think carefully before he swims in the same treacherous waters as his PN chairman.”

Lim also claimed Wan Ahmad Fayhsal — who is a first-term MP for PN for the Machang seat — was unqualified to be an MP as he had attempted to bring the police into parliamentary proceedings, through his police report which claimed Anwar had confused and misled the Dewan Rakyat over the Yayasan Albukhary matter.

"The police or any branch of government has no authority to intrude or investigate matters discussed in Parliament,” Lim said, adding that parliamentary matters can only be decided by Parliament.

On March 9 which was the night before Muhyiddin was first charged in court with alleged money laundering and corruption charges in relation to alleged bribes involving hundreds of millions of ringgit linked to Bersatu, the former prime minister claimed that Lim had as finance minister purportedly cancelled Yayasan Albukhary’s tax exempt status.

Lim on March 15 then sent a legal letter to demand for an apology and compensation from Muhyiddin over the allegation and said he would sue for defamation if no satisfactory response was given.

On March 22, Lim lodged a police report against Muhyiddin over the latter’s claims about Yayasan Albukhary’s tax exempt status, with the police report lodged under the Penal Code’s Section 499, 504 and 505(c) which covers the offences of criminal defamation, intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of the peace, and making a statement with the intent to incite or which is likely to incite any class or community of persons to commit an offence against any other class or community of persons.