Friday 29 Mar 2024
By
main news image

KUALA LUMPUR (April 5): Action will only be taken against Malaysians named in the leaked Panama Papers, if they have acted against the law, says Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz.

In addition, the Malaysian government must be formally informed of the wrongdoing, said the former de facto law minister.

"We must be informed. If they just simply write like that, I don't think we need to take any action. If they inform us on money laundering and all that, certainly we will take action," Nazri told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

He was asked if action would be taken against the Malaysians named in the documents leaked from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, who included the prime minister's son Mohd Mazifuddin Mohd Najib.

Dubbed as the largest data leak, the Panama Papers consist of some 11.5 million documents on 214,000 companies registered in offshore tax havens, allegedly involving tax evasion.

Former finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Tengku Hamzah, when approached on the matter, said the government should examine the claims in the documents for the sake of transparency. However, he left it to the government to take any action.

The Umno veteran admitted he has not seen the papers, but have read news reports about the array of leaders alleged to be keeping accounts abroad.

"We should examine these for the sake of transparency. We leave it to the government, but I think for the sake of transparency and good governance, we should find out," he told reporters.

However, he said offshore tax havens have been in existence for a long time and many people have kept their money there, to avoid paying taxes.

Asked whether such a practice was ethical, Razaleigh said it was a “very subjective” matter. He added, however, that the issue was not whether the act was legal, but whether it was proper.

Declining to comment on Mohd Mazifuddin’s case, he said: "Why are you referring to Najib's son? I don't think we should be personal... I'm not defending anybody, you break the law, you face the music, including me."

PKR strategy director Sim Tze Tzin said the government should commence investigations against Malaysians named in the leaked documents, like what some other countries are doing.

"It is fair that the Malaysian authorities should follow the international community’s practices to open investigation papers, over whoever is implicated," Sim told theedgemarkets.com.

DAP publicity secretary Tony Pua said that the authorities should at the very least, conduct a preliminary check on the Malaysian companies named in the documents.

"If there is prima facie case, then do a detailed probe," he added.

      Print
      Text Size
      Share