[UPDATED] Najib fails bid to overturn bankruptcy notice

KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has failed in his bid to set aside the bankruptcy notice from the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) in the agency’s pursuit of RM1.69 billion in tax arrears.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court today ruled that the IRB can continue to serve the bankruptcy notice on Najib, reported Malaysiakini.

High court judge Datuk Ahmad Bache, who presented the judgement via email to the legal teams representing Najib and IRB, also instructed the former prime minister to pay legal costs of RM15,000.

According to the ruling, the judge said Najib failed to prove strong grounds to justify his application seeing he has no “special circumstances”.

Ahmad added that it was unnecessary to issue a stay because the government has the financial capability to compensate Najib if his appeal is successful.

“Learned senior counsel for the revenue/plaintiff had indicated to this court that whilst the defendant may have made some efforts in meeting the plaintiff’s officials for discussions, but to date, no efforts have been made to making any form of payments to the plaintiff perhaps in the form of instalments.

“This court believes that the plaintiff through IRB is always open for discussion regarding payment. More often than not, IRB subscribes to a payment scheme whereby the taxpayer will be allowed to pay by instalments, agreed upon by both parties in a ‘win-win’ situation.”

According to documents filed in court, the government, through IRB, filed the notice in the high court here on February 4 against Najib as a debtor.

Based on the notice, Najib has to pay RM1.69 billion with 5% interest rate per annum on the total balance from July 22, 2020 (date of high court’s decision), to February 4, 2021, with the total payable amount as of the latter date at RM1,738,804,204.16.

He also filed an appeal against the high court’s decision in the Court of Appeal, which will hear the case on June 16. Pursuant to Section 103(2) of the Income Tax Act 1967, a person ordered to pay the assessment has to settle the payment to the IRB even if an appeal has been filed.

In April, he insisted that he always paid his taxes, and that the case against him was politically motivated.

“I will continue to stand up and fight against every attempt to bully and intimidate me by those in power,” he wrote on Facebook, adding that he asked his lawyers to try to halt proceedings.

If declared bankrupt, Najib will be stripped of his MP status and barred from standing in elections. He is currently Pekan MP. – The Vibes, June 14, 2021