KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the federal government are no longer parties to Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir’s legal challenge against the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) over more than RM5 million in additional tax assessments, following a high court ruling today.
Judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh allowed the government’s application to remove Anwar – named in his capacity as finance minister – and the federal administration as respondents, on the grounds that the disputed notices were issued solely by the IRB.
The court agreed that neither Anwar nor the government was directly involved in the decision-making process regarding the assessments.
The decision narrows the scope of the judicial review to focus solely on the IRB, which Mukhriz accuses of wrongly calculating his tax liability for the assessment years 2017 to 2019.
The court has fixed December 16 to hear the full judicial review application.
Despite the ruling, the court rejected a related bid by the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to strike out several paragraphs in Mukhriz’s affidavit. Those portions refer to alleged political interference in the IRB’s decision, including claims that past statements by Anwar and the government had influenced the tax action.
Mukhriz, 60, who is also the son of two-time former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, filed the judicial review on December 20 last year, naming the IRB’s chief executive or director-general as the first respondent, followed by Anwar and the government.
He is seeking to quash the IRB’s additional tax assessment notices totalling RM5,020,707.18 – broken down as RM2,558,875.90 for 2017, RM2,445,004.91 for 2018, and RM16,826.37 for 2019.
He is also challenging the penalties imposed under Section 113(2) of the Income Tax Act 1967, and is asking the court to declare both the assessments and penalties unlawful, unreasonable and ultra vires.
In his affidavit, Mukhriz alleged that the IRB’s actions were tainted by political motivations. He pointed to public remarks made by Anwar in 2023, claiming they were aimed at discrediting his father, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and were made “as an act of revenge”.
The Pejuang president and a former Kedah menteri besar is represented by counsel Syed Afiq Syed Albakri. Senior federal counsel Nur Irmawatie Daud appeared for Anwar and the government, while Marina Ibrahim acted for the IRB.
In January, the high court granted Mukhriz leave to pursue the judicial review and allowed a temporary stay on payment pending the outcome of the case. – July 24, 2025