WHY DON’T WANT TO ARREST JHO LOW – SCARED OF WHAT? COPS CRACK DOWN ON RALLY EVEN AS RAFIDAH ASKS NAJIB ‘HAS YOUR RM2.6BIL BEEN TAXED?’

Police cracked down on the “Tangkap (arrest) Jho Low” rally in Kuala Lumpur several minutes before it was scheduled to start at 2pm today.

The rally is being held to call for the arrest of businessman Low Taek Jho, who is a key figure in a major money laundering investigation in the US and named in a series of its related forfeiture suits.

Dang Wangi district police chief Shaharuddin Abdullah arrived outside Sogo shortly before 2pm and issued a warning for the participants of the rally to disperse.

“Please clear the area!…I ask all of you, especially the ones wearing yellow or blue, please clear the area,” said Shukri, who came with over a dozen policemen.

“I don’t allow any gathering to be held here. You understand?” Shukri said to a protester who insisted he has a right to peacefully assemble.

Shortly after, a group of policemen were seen dragging student activists Luqmanul Hakim and Asheeq Ali across the road from Sogo for a “talk”, while Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy attempted to negotiate with Shukri.

Emotions ran high as supporters surged towards the student leaders but were pushed back by the police.

The waiting crowd continued to chant, “Tangkap Jho Low” while policemen on site were heard saying that such gatherings should not be allowed to go on.

At about 2.15pm, Sevan announced a two minute “stand down” while they continue to negotiate with the police.

“We have not made any decisions yet, (whether to move or otherwise),” he told the crowd.

Rafidah asks Inland Revenue if it taxed Najib’s RM2.6b

Former minister Rafidah Aziz has asked the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) to clarify if it had known about caretaker prime minister Najib Razak’s infamous RM2.6 billion donation, and how the department had dealt with it at the time.

In an open letter to IRB today on her Facebook, the veteran Umno member said she had once been asked about the alleged donation from the Arabs, and if the prime minister had ever been taxed on the amount that had been deposited into his private bank accounts.

“I have no idea… My friends and I became very curious.

“We would like to ask, and can IRB please clarify and explain to the people at large, is the donation given to the prime minister, and transferred into his personal account, taxable?” she asked.

In her posting, Rafidah also questioned if Najib is a registered tax exempt charitable entity, and if he operated the account himself.

“Are donations not regarded as income and therefore taxable on the recipient?

“If the donation received by the prime minister was ‘tax exempt’, how was this allowed by IRB?”

On July 3, 2015, The Wall Street Journal broke the news that Malaysian investigators had traced nearly US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) of deposits into Najib’s account.

Najib responded denying he had ever used public funds for personal gain, and threatened to sue WSJ. His lawyers have not done so till today, citing various reasons.

The government subsequently came up with an explanation that the sum was a donation from wealthy Arabs.

The following year, the US Department of Justice filed suits to seize assets it claims had been acquired in the US using funds allegedly siphoned from 1MDB, and made detailed claims about the money trail in its court documents.

‘Will IRB accept donation excuse?’

In 2016, IRB chief executive officer Mohd Shukor Mahfar when first asked about the matter, said political donations are not subjected to tax, but did not elaborate.

Rafidah said since the tax department was allegedly notorious for coming down hard on ordinary citizens over back taxes, the IRB would have sought clarification from the prime minister on the exact nature of the said donation, asking if it has done so.

She then quoted attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali as saying no reason had been given as to why the donation had been made, as it is a matter between Najib and the Saudi royal family.

“Is it possible for just any ordinary Malaysian, to somehow obtain millions from someone, somewhere … and then declare it as a ‘donation’, without the need to give the reason for the donations, and merely cite it is a ‘private arrangement’ between the donor and the recipient?

“Will the IRB simply take the individuals’ word for it, and not investigate in order to verify?

“Would those alleged donations be taxed? Can the IRB give an answer?” she wrote. -MKINI

ACCORDING TO THE STAR:

‘Nab A Thief’ rally at Sogo, KL, disperses peacefully

Crowds during THE ‘Tangkap Pencuri’ (Nab A Thief) rally in front of Sogo, KL. – AZMAN GHANI/ The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: A crowd of protesters dispersed after gathering for the ‘Nab A Thief’ (#TangkapPencuri) rally near Sogo shopping mall.

The crowd trickled into the mall at about 2pm on Saturday (April 14), but police personnel from the Dang Wangi Police HQ were already on standby. Their gathering was interrupted as police stepped in and asked the group to disperse.

The organisers, “Anak Muda Cari Jho Low” (AMCJL) were seen negotiating for the police on a set amount of time to gather.

Parti Amanah Negara president Mohamad Sabu arrived on the scene at about 3pm.

The situation temporarily looked heated as protesters ignored police advice and ramped up the rally with a pickup truck that they used as a platform to give speeches.

The police Light Strike Unit were then seen taking their places to stop the protesters from marching. However, a compromise was reached as the crowd were given a certain amount of time to gather at Dataran Sogo, and to disperse without marching.

The crowd dispersed at around 4pm, after they handed over a memorandum to the police.

Dang Wangi OCPD Asst Comm Shaharuddin Abdullah said that some 200 policemen were on hand to ensure that nothing “untoward” occurred.

“We monitored the crowd that gathered. The organisers complied with our orders and dispersed when told to do so,” he said when met at the scene.

He added that organisers sent a notice on the rally last week.

“They failed to meet some requirements including obtaining permission from the venue owners  – Kuala Lumpur City Hall and the management of the Sogo shopping mall,” he said.

ACP Shaharuddin said police will be calling up the organisers soon as the rally was deemed illegal.

One of the event organisers, Amir Abd Hadi, said the gathering was a success and that the Malaysian people have shown their unhappiness by turning up at the rally.

ANN