BN and Opposition reps at loggerheads over report

WHILE Barisan Nasional MPs want the Government to proceed with the recommendations made by the RCI, Pakatan Harapan lawmakers have come to the defence of their leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Muar MP and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Razali Ibrahim said the process of inquiry and action must continue.

“It’s an incident that was brought up to the level of an RCI and now that the report is already in our hands, we must continue with the necessary process,” he said.

Simpang Renggam MP Datuk Liang Teck Meng said there was a serious lesson to be learnt from the incident despite it taking place over 20 years ago.

“The people RCI has recommended for investigation are still alive and if they think they should not be blamed, it is a good time for them to rebut or explain themselves,” he said.

Jasin MP Datuk Ahmad Hamzah said the incident should serve as a lesson that for major transactions, the figures should be made known and reported – not just to the Cabinet but to the Parliament.

PKR’s Subang MP R. Sivarasa said Anwar was merely giving statements based on the findings by the Auditor-General’s (AG) Report into the dealings.

“The A-G is a professional accountant and although the A-G had raised questions directly to BNM, Anwar, as the Deputy Prime Minister then, had told the central bank to reply to those concerns,” Sivarasa told reporters.

Both the A-G and BNM, he said, were represented by professional accountants and it was the AG who had signed off the report then.

“The question of misleading (the Cabinet) does not even arise. You cannot expect a non-accountant to question the professional entrusted to do the job,” he said.

Amanah communications director Khalid Samad questioned why the report was only presented on the last day of Parliament when this was signed off by the AG on Oct 19.

“If the RCI was completed on Oct 19, they could have tabled the report on Oct 23 when Parliament convened,” he said.

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail claimed that the move was politically motivated so that lawmakers would not be able to debate the findings.

“How come we were not allowed to debate it?” she said.

However, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia said a debate could not take place because no MP had filed a motion for one.

“Every debate will start with a motion and there is no motion from the Opposition or by the Government.”

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said denied that the inquiry was a political move, adding that the commission was set up based on existing laws.