FINANCE Minister Lim Guan Eng need not be referred to the Rights and Privileges Committee, said Speaker of the House Mohamad Ariff Md Yusoff earlier today.

“I find that the Bagan MP had no intention to mislead and hence it does not fall under Rule 36 (12) of the Standing Orders,” the Speaker told Parliament.

The opposition filed a motion, brought by Ismail Sabri Yaakob (Bera-BN), on Monday to refer Lim to the Rights and Privileges Committee for misleading Parliament last year when he accused the former Barisan Nasional government of “robbing” GST refunds.

“The report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) showed that no money was robbed as alleged by Lim,” Ismail said yesterday.

“This means the Bagan MP has confused the House,” said Ismail yesterday.

Last August, Lim told Parliament that the government had been “robbed”, referring to RM19.4 billion meant for GST refunds that were not in the refund account.

Ariff said that he had arrived at his decision after considering the PAC report on the missing funds.

Unhappy with the decision, Ismail said that the issue was not a matter of procedure but the “robbed” allegation was a serious matter.

“The PAC report states that the money was not used for non-government purposes. The money was just not placed in the refunds account but in the consolidated account,” said Ismail.

“Lim’s allegations were wrong,” he said.

Various MPs also contested Ariff’s decision, citing parts of the PAC report.

“If you want to raise the issues in the PAC Report, please file a motion to discuss the report.

“As far as whether Lim has misled Parliament, the Speaker’s decision is final,” said Ariff, prompting some opposition MPs to stage a walkout. – July 17, 2019.