Frustrated with the slow pace of investigations into an alleged Internal Revenue Board (IRB) raid on its premises, a Kuala Lumpur-based private college is seeking Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng's intervention.
The college's spokesperson Matim Md Mahmudul told Malaysiakini that a former senior minister could be behind the raid, which was carried out in March last year when BN was still in power.
Recalling details of the "gangster-like raid", he claimed that an IRB official threatened to shoot a lecturer, locked students in a room for hours and even attempted to coerce a domestic worker into confessing she was having an affair with the college's owner.
"As a result of the raid, our college incurred losses in the millions of ringgit because new enrollment of students was affected by 90 percent," he said.
Matim claimed that the Indian national lecturer Dr Gupreet Singh was warned that he would be shot if he refused to sign certain documents on behalf of the management although he was not authorised to do so.
Speaking to Malaysiakini, Gurpreet confirmed that the person leading the raid, whom Matim alleged was an IRB director, had threatened to put a bullet in him.
"Yes, he (the person leading the raid) threatened to shoot me if I did not sign despite me telling them I don't have the right to sign for the college administration," he alleged.
Gurpreet, who has since returned to India, said the Indian High Commission in Malaysia filed official complaints with 10 government departments, including the Prime Minister's Office, MACC, Home Ministry and Finance Ministry, over the incident.
'CCTV recordings deleted'
Meanwhile, Matim claimed that the 11am raid, which involved about 50 IRB officers, police and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) personnel, was carried out simultaneously on 14 premises linked to the college.
He also claimed that the raiding team had locked the students who were present in rooms for three hours and told them that the college would cease operations the next day.
"This is bizarre. We respect the IRB's right to carry out raids. But why the need to lock the students and threaten the lecturer?" he asked.
Matim also claimed that IRB officers had threatened the domestic worker who was employed at the college owner's residence with a DNA test.
"She was threatened to confess having an affair with the owner. She was also threatened with a DNA test to prove the affair. How is an alleged affair related to an IRB raid?" he asked.
Matin said the domestic worker refused to confess to the affair and lodged a report with the Malaysian government through the Indian High Commission after returning to India.
Apart from this, more than 50 CCTVs were seized from the college premises but were returned later with their recordings deleted.
Matim said a police report has been lodged on the deletion of the CCTV recordings.
Appealing for Lim to order an official investigation into the alleged incident, he also claimed that the BN minister suspected of being the hidden hand wanted to shut down this college in order to provide a lifeline for another educational institution in which the latter had an interest in.
When contacted, IRB director-general Sabin Samitha declined to comment on the matter.
"I am grateful for the information provided.
"However, in line with Section 138 Income Tax Act, IRB cannot disclose details of taxpayers to other quarters," he told Malaysiakini. - Mkini
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