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PAC’s 1MDB probe more ‘challenging’ after Hasan made chairman, Pua says
Malaymailonline.
KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 ― DAP MP Tony Pua claimed today the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) opposition party members found it harder to get things done during the investigation on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) when the panel’s previous chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed was replaced.
Pua, who also sits on the panel, said that when Datuk Hasan Arifin assumed the post, certain aspects of the probe were made more difficult, like when former 1MDB chairman Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh was called in as a witness.
“It became more challenging. It was not diverted as PAC still had the mandate to investigate but it became harder for people on my side of the fence to push for things to be done,” he told a press conference at DAP headquarters.
Pua said that when Nur Jazlan was chairman, the Umno lawmaker had been more open to listening to points raised by both the opposition and Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmakers in the committee.
“The last time the chairman will listen to both sides and ask. This time around, we needed to press a lot more, especially like when it came to interviewing Tan Sri Bakke.
“We had to ‘ding-dong, ding-dong’ a few times before he (Hasan) agreed,” he said.
The Petaling Jaya Utara MP also said after the change in chairmanship, the initial plan to call in businessman Low Taek Jho as a witness was dropped.
“Jho Low was asked to testify under the previous PAC chaired by Nur Jazlan but after the new chairman came in, he refused to call Jho Low,” he said, referring to Low by his nickname.
“We (the opposition) didn’t pursue it because there were other matters to chase after,” Pua added.
He said although the PAC report was tabled yesterday, it was not the end of the road yet for the committee as it could continue with the investigation if 1MDB agrees to surrender its foreign bank account statements.
“If you ask the chairman, he will say the report has been concluded. But we have to press for further investigation either via PAC or via other channels,” Pua explained.
PAC released its much-anticipated final report on the troubled state investment arm yesterday after almost a year of proceedings, and the questioning of dozens of government and 1MDB officials, including its CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy.
Among its findings, PAC found that the 1MDB board of directors had failed to ensure the fund’s management complied with good accounting practices.
The PAC in its report also urged the authorities to investigate former 1MDB CEO Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi over weaknesses in the company’s management.
It also found that 1MDB Group’s capital financing structure and financial performance was unsatisfactory, noting that in January 2016, 1MDB’s debt hit RM50 billion, compared to its assets worth RM53 billion.
