Najib claims bankruptcy notice an attempt to disqualify him as MP after poll puts him as frontrunner to be PM again

MM Online:

Najib claims bankruptcy notice an attempt to disqualify him as MP after poll puts him as frontrunner to be PM again

The Pekan MP questioned the timing of the bankruptcy notice served by the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) to him yesterday. ― Picture by Shafwan Zaidon

KUALA LUMPUR, April 6 — Umno’s Datuk Seri Najib Razak today claimed to be a victim of another ploy to strip him of his status as an MP before the 15th general election, even as he is appealing his conviction for plundering RM42 million from government fund SRC International Sdn Bhd.

The Pekan MP questioned the timing of the bankruptcy notice served by the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) to him yesterday.

In a Facebook post, he said that the timing of the notice — coming on the first day of his appeal hearing — was intended to add salt to an open wound.

“Upon completion of yesterday’s court session, I found an IRB representative in my personal residence, where I was given a notice of bankruptcy relating to a summary of my income tax from 2011 to 2017!

“How did it happen? This tax case was imposed on me by the PH (Pakatan Harapan) government and has no solid reason or merit whatsoever. It was then continued by the PN government,” he said.

Najib said that he suspected the timing of the notice came as a way to hamper him in the upcoming general election.

Alluding to an undated survey by Universiti Utara Malaysia involving 60,000 people, he claimed the majority wanted him to be prime minister again compared to the incumbent Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who ranked fourth.

“Barisan Nasional (BN) is also the first choice coalition in the poll, while Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) position is shaky,” he said.

Najid insisted that he had paid his income tax without fail during his entire tenure as PM.

He claimed the RM1.74 billion (including a penalty of RM46 million from last year) demanded by IRB to be an additional assessment and an unreasonable penalty.

He added that the IRB had previously issued a statement stating that political donations were not taxable, referring to political funds he had received during his time as prime minister.

He added that the monies received had been spent on CSRs and politics, including donations to mosques in Malaysia and flood aid over four years.

“Imagine receiving a RM1.7 billion tax penalty for using money from Saudi Arabia to help flood victims and mosques throughout the country for four years!

“We made sure the money was used for the people, places of worship and helping those in need without having to be indebted to any company cronies,” he said.

He however said that he would continue to fight this injustice done against him and prove himself innocent from these charges, as he has claimed before.

“I will make this experience a guide on my journey of self preservation and restore the people’s trust in the persecution that is taking place.

“More importantly, I will continue to use my ability to give the best appeal alongside my attorneys to assist the judges in making decisions that favour the truth rather than the other way around,” he said.

News portal Malaysiakini cited an unnamed source close to Najib saying the bankruptcy notice against Najib is scheduled for case management at the courts on May 5.