KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition lawmakers staged a walk out in Parliament yesterday after a spat with the Dewan Rakyat speaker over a motion they had brought to refer Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng to the Rights and Privileges Committee.

The incident started when opposition leader Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (BN-Bera) tabled the motion to refer Guan Eng to the committee for misleading the house when he alleged last year that RM19.4 billion of goods and services tax (GST) refunds had been “robbed” by the previous government.

Ismail Sabri also urged Speaker Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof to compel Guan Eng to withdraw his remarks, following the tabling of the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) report on the matter on Monday.

The report found GST refunds of RM19.4 billion, which should have been channelled into the Fund for GST Refunds, was instead used for operating and development expenditures.

However, Mohamad Ariff ruled there was no element of provocation in Guan Eng’s allegation.

He said he had studied the whole PAC report to see if there was a prima facie case to refer Guan Eng to the committee.

Ismail Sabri called the ruling unfair, but Mohamad Ariff stood by his decision, saying it was “final”.

This caused Ismail Sabri to stand up and leave the chamber, followed by Khairy Jamaluddin (BN-Rembau), Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam), Awang Hashim (PAS-Pendang) and Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan (BN-Pontian).

Speaking to reporters later, Ismail Sabri again called for  Guan Eng to be referred to the committee or apologise to the nation. “The Bagan MP  (member of parliament) has lied in the chamber and is protected by the speaker,” Ismail Sabri charged.

Separately, Guan Eng told reporters that when he spoke on the GST refunds last year, it was in the context of the refunds not returned to taxpayers but were instead used for other purposes.

“The word I used last year was used in the context of GST revenue that was not returned to taxpayers but used for other purposes.

“The speaker has already said you must see the context, the context was used last year and this matter was not brought up in the Public Accounts Committee report,” Guan Eng said.