KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has told the High Court that he did not defame Lim Guan Eng about the tax exemption issue involving Yayasan Albukhary.
The former prime minister said he was merely explaining to the media the questions raised by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) following an investigation conducted on him on March 9, 2023, related to the Jana Wibawa project and Yayasan Albukhary.
"I was only clarifying my position and what had happened to me. I had no malicious intent and the statement was not directed at the plaintiff (Lim) but rather explaining the matters that had occurred," he said while reading his witness testimony on the second day of the hearing for Lim's defamation suit against the Pagoh MP over the cancellation of Yayasan Albukhary's tax exemption.
Muhyiddin added that the previous Barisan Nasional government had granted Yayasan Albukhary a tax exemption, but he (Muhyiddin) had received appeal letters from the charitable foundation on Feb 5, 2021, and Feb 8, 2021, stating that the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) would not recognise its exemption status.
"I thought that if the tax exemption was still recognised by the LHDN, there would be no need for Yayasan Albukhary to appeal to me while Perikatan Nasional was in power.
"That must have happened during Pakatan Harapan's time in government.
"I did not accuse or defame him. I was merely referring to the fact that the government at the time was Pakatan and it was a fact that the plaintiff was the finance minister," he said.
Muhyiddin further said that LHDN falls under the Finance Ministry's jurisdiction and the finance minister is responsible for the decisions made by the departments under its purview.
"Therefore, when I received the letter from Yayasan Albukhary, I forwarded it to Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz because he was the finance minister at that time," he said.
When questioned by Lim's lawyer, Guok Ngek Seong, Muhyiddin agreed that the appeal letter from Yayasan Albukhary did not state that Lim did not recognise the tax exemption.
"However, to my understanding, when Yayasan Albukhary's tax exemption was not recognised, the finance minister was Lim Guan Eng," Muhyiddin said.
On March 27, 2023, Lim filed a lawsuit against Muhyiddin for allegedly making three defamatory statements on Facebook on March 9, 11, and 12, 2023 over the tax exemption issue.
Reports on the matter were subsequently published in several newspapers and news portals.
The former Penang chief minister also claimed that the defamatory statements implied that he had abused his position and power by authorising or directing the LHDN to impose taxes and penalties on the charitable foundation, despite them being exempted.
The trial before Judicial Commissioner Roz Mawar Rozain resumes on Wednesday (July 17). – Bernama
