Lim said when he took over as finance minister, he found three main issues, namely the falsification of accounts, hidden files and “red” files.

He said the LRT3 fell in the category of hidden files, adding that the cost of the project was stated as RM10 billion when it was actually RM32 billion.

Lim said the government-owned transportation company Prasarana Malaysia had no choice but to admit to the actual cost.

“They can question why the Project Delivery Partner charged them so high. The important question is why they allowed them to charge so high… they are the regulator. We asked them why they allowed it to escalate and not tell the actual price.”

Lim said Prasarana admitted to the true cost of the project and that the RM32 billion was in “black and white”.

Lim’s critics have questioned the RM32 billion figure cited by him on the project.

Prasarana had said it would abide by the finance ministry’s instruction to reduce the cost of the LRT3 project.

Meanwhile, Lim said the government was making progress on its 2018 tax collection target of RM134 billion.

But he declined to reveal the amount of arrears owed to the government.

“If you do not pay and go to court, it may not be to your benefit, so the best is to pay what you are required to pay.”

Earlier in his speech, Lim said there would be no more office raids by armed officers on companies accused of evading tax.

“No more rough tactics like in the past. Such tactics are only for bad people,” he said.