Najib claims 'vindication' by PAC report

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak (photo, above) today claimed he has been vindicated by the Public Accounts Committee's report on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) refunds.

"I feel vindicated by the PAC report as there was no robbery or misappropriation of the GST collection.

“It is impossible there was misappropriation, it is impossible there was any robbery of the GST collection,” he told journalists at the Parliament lobby today.

While the PAC report concluded the GST money had not gone "missing" as claimed by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, it said Najib's government had contravened the Goods and Services Tax Act 2014.

It said all GST revenue should be credited into the GST Trust Fund so that refunds can be processed within 28 days as required by law. Najib's government had instead credited them into the consolidated revenue account.

The report also stated that the transfer from the consolidated revenue account to the GST Trust Fund was delayed and Najib's government spent the money for operational and development purposes.

Attorney-general Tommy Thomas had said the routing of GST funds into a different account was a breach of the law.

However, Najib claimed the government acted on the advice of the accountant-general and Finance Ministry officials.

"The money was put into the consolidated account in full first. From there, we distributed it for GST refunds as the sum is not known, it depends on the validity of the claims.

"At the same time, we also used the money for management purposes such as government operations, services to the people and development. 

"This is a suitable method and is also done by Singapore," said the Pekan MP.

Spending the funds intended for GST refund left the government with a refund shortfall of RM19.4 billion.

The government subsequently asked Petronas to provide a one-off dividend to help pay the GST refund to businesses, some of which did not receive their refund for more than a year. - Mkini