KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak has not been declared a bankrupt yet despite his failure to pay RM1.69 billion in additional income tax arrears demanded by Inland Revenue Board (IRB).
Najib's lawyer Wee Yeong Kang said he had objected to the board's suggestion for the court to record that a bankruptcy event has occurred.
He said the position taken by the IRB was incorrect and misguided in light of the clear rules that govern bankruptcy proceedings.
Accordingly, he said the court told parties that no act of bankruptcy has occurred at this stage.
He said during the online proceeding today, the court had also instructed his client to file applications to stay the bankruptcy proceeding and to set aside the bankruptcy notice against him before May 24.
"The court has instructed for both applications to be filed before May 24. We need to file a summon in chambers to set aside the bankruptcy notice," he said after the matter came up for case management before deputy registrar Ida Rahayu Sharif.
He said the court also fixed the same day for case management for parties to update the court on the status of the applications.
In the proceeding, revenue counsel Athari Faris Ammery Hussein appeared on behalf of the IRB creditor.
On Feb 4, the IRB filed a notice of bankruptcy against Najib at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
According to the notice, the former prime minister has to pay RM1.69 billion with interest of five percent a year between July 22, 2020 and Feb 4, 2021, amounting to RM45.9 million from the date of the order of the summary judgement as well as costs of RM15, 000.
This brings the accumulated sum being demanded by the IRB to RM1.73 billion.
IRB had also in the notice said if Najib does not comply with the requests stated in the notice, a bankruptcy proceeding could be instituted against him.
On July 22, last year, the High Court allowed the IRB's application for a summary judgement to be entered against Najib in its suit to recover the RM1.69 billion in taxes from the latter for the period between 2011 and 2017.
Subsequently, he was ordered by the court to pay the amount.
Najib had on March 31 applied for a stay of the court's order for him to settle the RM1.69 billion pending his appeal at the Court of Appeal against the summary judgement order.
The notice of appeal was filed on July 27, last year and the matter has been fixed for hearing on June 11.