KUALA LUMPUR – The Finance Ministry today did not give a definitive answer on the controversial special draws for 4D numbers, saying only that an announcement can be expected soon.
Speaking in Parliament, Deputy Finance Minister I Mohd Shahar Abdullah (Paya Besar-BN) said the government has taken note of proposals by MPs to reduce the number of special draws from the current 22 times per year.
“I hope you can be a little bit more patient. We will issue a statement on this in the near future,” he said during his ministry’s winding-up speech on the 12th Malaysia Plan.
Although Putrajaya has approved 22 special draws this year, he said, only eight have been carried out.
“Seven were forced to be cancelled. The remaining (seven) will be the ones that we will announce in due time.”
The Umno lawmaker rubbished claims that the special draws are considered part of the government’s revenue sources, saying there are other income sources such as tax and non-tax revenues.
A number of lawmakers earlier raised the issue of special draws to the deputy minister, including Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muar-independent), who asked how much the government is set to collect from the draws.
He said the 22 special draws are considerably more than the eight allowed under the Pakatan Harapan administration.
Maszlee Malik (Simpang Renggam-independent) also asked if the government intends to reduce the number of special draws to eight.
Ahmad Fadhli Shaari (Pasir Mas-PAS) said he had hoped for good news today, that the government would scrap the draws altogether. – The Vibes, October 5, 2021
