RM1m to Shahrir was reimbursement, not taxable - lawyer

 

The RM1 million that former Felda chairperson Shahrir Samad received in 2013 is actually reimbursement, the Kuala Lumpur High Court heard today.

The accused’s defence counsel Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin told the court this during the trial of his client over alleged money laundering involving the sum allegedly received from then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

The lawyer said this is the reason why the defence team is seeking for the first prosecution witness Rosli Mat Jinun to bring to court documentation on the income and allowance obtained by Shahrir since his first stint as MP in 1978.

Rosli is a Parliamentary Affairs Division’s senior assistant administrative officer.

Firoz claimed that the documents regarding Shahrir’s earnings from 1978 to the present would strengthen their stance that the RM1 million is not taxable income.

“Shahrir’s income is extremely relevant. He faces an offence under Amla (Anti-Money Laundering Act) where the predicate (underlying) offence relates to Section 113 of the Income Tax Act, where his position has always been that there has been no declaration of income because the RM1 million was reimbursement of a trust fund in relation to personal money.

“Therefore, one has to establish he has extended his personal money in the first place to receive the reimbursement.

“It is extremely relevant for us to establish that he is in a position to make payment out of his own personal funds, hence (need to refer to) his income all these years as an MP and deputy minister being relevant,” Firoz contended, adding that reimbursement is not taxable.

Reimbursement is defined as the action of repaying a person who has spent or lost money, such as reimbursement of medical costs.

Not relevant

The deputy public prosecutor then objected to the defence's application for Rosli to bring the documents, contending that the documents have no relevance to the money laundering charge.

However, towards the end of proceedings, Rosli indicated he would try to bring the documents to the court, pending his conferring with his superiors first.

Shahrir became Johor Bahru MP following the fifth general election in 1978 under the BN ticket.

During his multi-decade career, he had once been Prime Minister's Department’s parliamentary secretary, deputy finance minister, trade and industry deputy minister, federal territories minister, social welfare minister, and domestic trade and consumer affairs minister.

Shahrir, however, was defeated by PKR candidate Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir for the Johor Bahru parliamentary seat during the 14th general election on May 9, 2018.

The trial before judge Muhammad Jamil Hussin will resume on Aug 8.

Shahrir was charged with committing money laundering by not declaring to the Inland Revenue Board the RM1 million payment as part of his real income in the income tax return for 2013.

The money, alleged to be from unlawful activities, was allegedly received from Najib through a cheque, according to the charge.

The offence carries a maximum penalty of jail time up to five years or a fine of up to RM5 million, or both, upon conviction. - Mkini