Have confidence in report on 1MDB, urges PAC chief
KUALA LUMPUR: Public Accounts Committee ( PAC) chairman Datuk Hasan Arifin said the people should not worry and should have confidence in the recommendations and summary of the Public Accounts Committee on the 1MDB Governance Management Control to be tabled in Parliament soon.
This was because it was prepared by members of the committee comprising Barisan Nasional ( BN) and opposition members, according to Hasan in a media statement circulated yesterday.
The PAC yesterday heard the tabling of the Final Report On The 1MDB Audit by the Auditor- General at Parliament House which was rescheduled to yesterday and Monday after a postponement on Feb 24 and 25.
Hasan said the PAC would study the final report together with 10 earlier proceedings to complete the committee report before it is being tabled in the Dewan Rakyat.
“The PAC hopes that the report on the Jurisdiction of Governance of 1MDB can be tabled at the Dewan Rakyat sitting this time,” he said.
The First Sitting of the Dewan Rakyat will begin on Monday with the official opening by the Yang di- Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah.
Meanwhile, Hasan said the PAC accepted and appreciated the needs and action of the National Audit Department to classify the final report as a classified document under the Official Secrets Act 1972.
“The Auditor- General has the legal power to do so in order to uphold the credibility and integrity of the department,” he said.
He said the decision of the department followed the information contained in the Interim Report on the 1MDB Audit which was tabled to the PAC last July, which was leaked selectively by an irresponsible group to create a negative report to the extent that it affected the credibility of the department and the PAC itself.
“As a committee set up under the Malaysian Parliament, there is a necessity for compliance and accountability and to respect the legal provisions which is also formulated by the same institution,” he said.
He said that after the PAC Report on the Jurisdiction of Governance of 1MDB was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat, it was up to the Auditor- General to either cancel the order on the official secret document on the AuditorGeneral’s Report on the 1MDB Audit. — Bernama