“All income should be reported to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) and taxes paid.”

Likewise, he added, any spending money received from anywhere should be reported to the IRB.

He noted there are exceptions like donations to welfare bodies, which are exempted from tax by the finance ministry.

“Even so, tax forms must be completed and the IRB informed on the donation and tax exemption,” said Mahathir.

“If exemption from tax cannot be obtained, both donor and recipient must be named in tax forms.”

The former prime minister was commenting on a Malaysiakini report on Sungai Besar Umno Division Chief Jamal Yunos admitting he had received thousands of ringgit from friends.

“The question was whether the IRB has been informed on the money received,” Mahathir said in his blog.

In the report, Jamal described himself as a “good person”.

Again, Mahathir wanted to know whether an exemption had been obtained (by the good person) on payment of taxes on money received.

Mahathir referred to reports that 600 Umno delegates attending the Sungai Besar Umno divisional meeting would receive RM1,000 each from Jamal from the money he had received from friends.

Questions arise, he said. Will those who receive RM1,000 each inform the IRB? Will they pay taxes on the sum received or otherwise?

Patently, continued the former prime minister, many questions could be asked of the “good person”.

His rough estimate showed that thousands of ringgit would have to be paid in taxes by those who donated to the good person; thousands in taxes would have to be paid by the good person and thousands paid by those who received money from the latter.

It’s not the done thing to use the Official Secrets Act (OSA) to cover up wrongdoing just because the person allegedly responsible was “a good person”.

If its true that taxes are due, summed up Mahathir, those who have taken money and those who have received them should fill up tax forms. “Taxes due must be paid.”