Cabinet approves having Sabah, Sarawak reps on LHDN board

 

Both the Sabah and Sarawak state governments had submitted the names of their candidates to sit on the LHDN board in July.

PETALING JAYA: The Cabinet has approved a proposal to amend the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN) Act 1995 so that Sabah and Sarawak can have representatives sit on the LHDN board.

Finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said the amendment to the Act will be tabled in Parliament, though he did not specify when. The Cabinet approved this proposal on Sept 30.

Representation on the board is aimed at ensuring Sabah receives its rightful share in tax revenue returned to the state, and Sarawak receiving the correct amount of annual special grant allowed for under the Federal Constitution.

While a candidate from Sabah had already been appointed to the board on Sept 1, Tengku Zafrul said, the amendment would seek to institutionalise having a representative from the two Borneo states.

Both the Sabah and Sarawak state governments had submitted the names of their candidates to sit on the LHDN board in July.

“The government believes the appointment of representatives from Sabah and Sarawak is in line with the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement 1963,” Tengku Zafrul told the Dewan Rakyat.

“We welcome the contribution of ideas and expertise on tax administration from the representatives of both state governments.”

On July 11, Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg said the state had submitted the name of its candidate. The following day, the Sabah government submitted theirs. - FMT