A-G’s report on 1MDB to be made public, says PM

PETALING JAYA: The Auditor-General’s Report on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) will be declassified and released to the public, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The Prime Minister said Malaysian authorities would contact their counterparts in the United States, Switzerland, Singapore and Luxembourg for data on 1MDB’s funds.

Dr Mahathir said he had instructed the police to obtain the report, which was classified under the Official Secrets Act.

“They will submit the report to me and I will study it in order to release it,” he said during a press conference to announce members of his Cabinet.

Asked how quickly the 1MDB probe could be wrapped up, he said the Government wanted to do it as soon as possible, but the matter was complex.

“It involves a lot of people and decisions, and the money (trail) has to be investigated.

“We have to contact America, Switzerland, Singapore and Luxembourg to get the data on what hap- pened to the 1MDB money. We have to sift through and determine which reports are valid and which are not valid, so it will take time,” he said.

The Government, he added, would decide on the necessary actions, including detention, arrest and preventing those involved from going abroad, once information was available.

Asked whether he stopped Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak from leaving Malaysia due to the probe, he said: “There are many complaints against him, all of which have to be investigated, and because we find that the complaints are valid, we have to act quickly as we don’t want to be saddled with the problem of extradition from other countries.”