KUALA LUMPUR: Newly appointed Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Hasan Arifin has given assurance that investigations into 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) will go on without fear or favour.
At a press conference immediately after the motion to appoint him was passed in the Dewan Rakyat, Hasan said the investigation, along with all other matters concerning the country's finances, was a priority of the committee.
"Once the select committee has chosen the remaining three PAC members, I will call for a meeting to discuss and continue investigations into pending matters.
"I am new, so I will look at all the reports forwarded to me by the Auditor General in the meantime," he said.
On the membership of DAP MP Tony Pua in the committee, Hassan said he would only make a decision after the PAC convenes its first meeting.
"I want to have a PAC meeting first. I don't want to rely on people's perception to decide on his appointment, even from Barisan MPs themselves.
"Let us meet first and then we will make a decision," he said.
Hasan also denied allegations that the Government was out to delay the PAC's investigations into 1MDB, dismissing the allegations as mere perception.
"The Government has promised that it will be investigated, and the government MPs have said that we will speed up investigations and produce a report for the Dewan Rakyat.
"I cannot say when exactly I can call for a PAC meeting, because I have to wait for the other appointments, but if I can call for one within this sitting, then certainly I will," he said.
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