Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng addresses the media at the Parliament in Kuala Lumpur August 13, 2018. — Picture by Miera Zulyana

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 — Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng admitted to making a mistake in the Dewan Rakyat last week while announcing the figures for the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

He clarified that the actual loss in the input tax credit fund for the GST is higher than first reported, adding that the error happened when one of his officers mistakenly left out the decimal figure in the fund’s available amount, which resulted in two completely different figures.

“It was announced last week that the available funds is approximately RM1.48 billion. However the real figure is around RM148.6 million,” Lim said in the Dewan Rakyat today.

This meant that instead of a loss of RM17.91 billion in the fund, the number is actually RM19.24 billion since 2015 until May 31 this year.

“I wish to apologise to the Speaker for this mistake. Yet, it is better for us to be transparent and honest with the House rather than hide the fact as the previous government would have done,” he added.

Last Wednesday, Lim told the Dewan Rakyat that some RM18 billion out of RM19.4 billion of the GST’s input tax credit since 2015 was missing and could not be accounted for.