KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 — Khairy Jamaluddin today urged police to take follow-up action following a police report lodged against Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng who claimed that the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) government had “robbed” public coffers of billions in Goods and Services Tax (GST) refunds.
The Rembau MP said this following the findings by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today that there were no such losses reported.
“They have to [follow-up]. I have given my statement to the police and the PAC has verified it, so police have to take follow-up action.
“This [the claims] involved a crime, robbery. If it does not involve crime, the police have to at least issue a statement on it,” Khairy told a press conference in Parliament lobby here today.
Earlier, PAC had said that the probe into the estimated shortfall in GST refunds was rdue to a projection error.
It chairman Datuk Noraina Ahmad said that the revenue which was not transferred to the GST refund pool was used to fund management and development expenses.
Lim had in July last year claimed that the BN administration “robbed” the country of an estimated RM19 billion meant for GST refunds.
Khairy had lodged a police report last August, following the claims made by Lim.
The PAC investigated the matter over 11 months beginning from August 2018.
