KUALA LUMPUR (June 17): The Ministry of Finance (MoF) today postponed the Bill on the amendment of the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRB) to the next session in October after the tabling of the Bill faced opposition and doubts from many quarters.

At Parliament sitting this morning, deputy Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan announced that the controversial Bill had been postponed.

"The two readings for the Bill have been postponed to the next session," Maslan told Parliament, without giving any reason.

At Parliament Lobby, Maslan told The Edge Financial Daily: "We will postpone it to October pending a few adjustments to the Bill.”

The Bill, tabled last week, was due for second and third reading in Parliament this week.

The Bill, if passed, will allow an investment panel to be formed within IRB to make investments using taxpayers’ money.

Doubts have been cast on the Bill from economists and analysts, government and opposition Members of Parliament. Most opine that investment is not the function of IRB, whose role is to collect taxes efficiently.

As the government has already set up many agencies using the people’s money to go into investment, IRB should not use tax payers’ money to duplicate this role, according to some critics.

Recently, many have questioned the investment strategies of 1MDB which has borrowed heavily and placed billions overseas. The agency was set up by the current administration.