BAGAN MP Lim Guan Eng did not revoke Albukhary Foundation’s tax exemption status when he was the finance minister, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told the Dewan Rakyat today.

“Based on the Finance Ministry’s records, the government can confirm that the Bagan lawmaker, during his tenure as the finance minister, never made any cancellation of tax exemptions to Albukhary Foundation as alleged.

“So the claims of him cancelling the tax exemption are not true,” Anwar, who is also finance minister, said during the minister’s question-and-answer session.

Anwar was responding to a question from Cha Kee Chin (Rasah-PH) on whether Lim had cancelled the Albukhary Foundation’s tax exemption during his tenure as finance minister from May 2018 to February 2020.

Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, at a press conference outside the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission headquarters in Putrajaya early this month, alleged that Lim had revoked the tax exemption that was approved for Albukhary Foundation when Lim was finance minister after the 2018 general election.

The Bersatu president was hauled up by the anti-graft agency as part of its probe into the Jana Wibawa programme.

Subsequently, Lim demanded that Muhyiddin retract the allegation or face legal action.

Anwar said the tax exemption approval for the Albukhary Foundation was made on February 25, 2021, almost a year after Muhyiddin had come into power.

“The Albukhary Foundation and Albukhary Group were given tax exemptions based on subsection 44(6) of the Income Tax Act 1967,” he said.

Anwar also said the absolute power on tax exemptions is in the hands of the Inland Revenue Board director-general, and not that of the finance minister or even the prime minister. – March 21, 2023.