Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof – Bernama file photo
KUALA LUMPUR: Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof today ruled that there was no element of provocation in Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’s allegation that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) refund credit was “stolen” by the previous government.
He said this when deciding on a motion tabled by Opposition leader Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob seeking to refer Lim to the Rights and Privileges Committee according to Standing Order 36 (12) for allegedly misleading the Dewan Rakyat with a statement he made in the House in August last year.
This follows the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) findings, tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday, that the GST refund credit of RM19.4 billion which should have been channelled into the GST Refund Consolidated Fund had instead been used for operating and development expenditures.
Mohamad Ariff said he had studied the whole PAC report to see if there was a prima facie case to refer Lim to the committee.
“I came to the conclusion that there was no element of provocation by the Honourable Member from Bagan who is also Finance Minister…and therefore it did not involve Standing Order 36 (12).
“I have referred to various paragraphs and all relevant sections in the whole report although what was directed to me comprised only a one-sentence paragraph,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat.
However, confusion reigned when opposition MPs objected to Mohamad Ariff’s ruling and explanation, with Ismail Sabri calling for the issue to be debated.
Mohamad Ariff then asked the Bera MP to table a new motion to discuss the PAC report as a whole.
The arguments and protestations dragged on for almost an hour, forcing Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to wait his turn to table a motion on the Sabah State Electoral Redelineation report.
In a bid to restore order, Mohamad Ariff declared that his decision was final, and this prompted most of the opposition MPs to walk out of the House. – Bernama