KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin denied defaming former finance minister Lim Guan Eng when he issued a media statement about the cancelled tax exemption of Yayasan Al-Bukhary.
Muhyiddin said this at the Kuala Lumpur High Court in his witness statement in the defamation suit Lim had filed against him.
Muhyiddin said he had only explained the additional statement recorded by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on March 9 last year as part of investigations into Jana Wibawa and the foundation.
The Pagoh member of parliament said he had only explained his position and what had happened to him; and he did not have any ill intentions and his statement was not aimed at Lim.
Muhyiddin said he had received a letter of appeal from Yayasan Al-Bukhary that stated the tax exemption was not recognised by the Inland Revenue Board (IRB), although it had been allowed previously.
Muhyiddin said all decisions by IRB were under the purview of the Finance Ministry and finance minister. Lim was finance minister in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government that held power from May 2018 to February 2020.
He said it was public knowledge that he was called by the MACC to have his statement recorded and after leaving the premises, he had met his supporters and the media.
"I (at that time) wanted to explain that Yayasan Al-Bukhary had been given the tax exemption by the previous Barisan Nasional government but I accepted the appeal, which stated that the IRB had decided not to recognise the tax exemption.
"So, I thought, there was a need for Yayasan Al-Bukhary to appeal to me when Perikatan Nasional was the government if the tax exemption was still recognised by the IRB.
"So, for sure it had happened when PH was the government and at that time, the plaintiff (Lim) was the finance minister.
"I did not accuse or defame him, I was just referring to when the government at that time was PH and the fact that the plaintiff was the finance minister," he said.
Lim had accused Muhyiddin of making three defamatory statements on the foundation's tax exemption issue on March 9,11 and 12 last year on his Facebook page. The statements were reported by several newspapers and news portals on the same day.
On March 27 last year, Lim filed a suit claiming that the statements were defamatory.
Lim claimed that the allegedly defamatory statements implied that he had abused his position and power by authorising or directing the IRB to impose tax and penalties on the charitable foundation, when it should not have been taxed.
Meanwhile, Muhyiddin said MACC had questioned him on the appeal of the exemption and he had explained that the foundation was a charitable organisation.
He said that based on his knowledge and memory, the foundation had applied for the tax exemption to be reinstated and was told that the IRB had decided not to recognise the approval given previously.
He added that the appeal was made when he was prime minister and he had minuted in the letter of appeal for the matter to be brought to the attention on the finance minister to be considered.
The trial before judicial commissioner Roz Mawar Rozain continues tomorrow.