Probe into Malaysia state fund frozen till October

By P Prem Kumar

KUALA LUMPUR

A Public Accounts Committee (PAC) probe into debt-ridden 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) is to be halted until October when the ruling coalition nominates four new representatives to the parliamentary task force, including a chairman.

On July 28, four members were promoted to the new cabinet in a Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition reshuffle, ruling them ineligible to participate on the committee.

By parliamentary conventions, ministers and deputy ministers cannot serve on the bi-partisan parliamentary action group, which is comprised of eight members from the ruling party and four from the opposition.

PAC Vice-Chairman Dr Tan Seng Giaw told Anadolu Agency that although the five opposition lawmakers in the committee intend to proceed with the investigation process, it will not meet the needed quorum to convene a PAC meeting if the remaining four decline to co-operate.

"We have not received any notice of meeting cancellations yet. We want to continue [the investigations] but there is a constitution to adhere to," Giaw said.

"I can assume the post of temporary chairman if the BN MPs are willing to attend the August 3rd hearing. If otherwise, we have no choice but to tell people out there that this is a conspiracy by the government to cover the investigations up," he said.

1MDB is under a time-sensitive probe by the auditor-general for financial mismanagement, after which a final report will be presented to the PAC to be deliberated and later presented to the Parliament.

Criticism has mounted of the finance ministry owned investment firm, established in 2009, for raking debts of RM42 billion (almost $11.5 billion) in six years of business operations.

Earlier this month, international probes into 1MDB claimed that billions of Ringgit (hundreds of millions of dollars) was channelled to personal bank accounts belonging to Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Seng Giaw said that the committee will have to wait for the next parliamentary sitting beginning Oct. 19, for the ruling coalition to nominate the four new members.

He however urged Parliament speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia to weigh in on the sensitivity of the 1MDB investigations, and allow the proceedings to commence as scheduled.

PAC chief Nur Jazlan Mohamed automatically lost his PAC membership when he was named the new deputy home minister in a cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Najib Razak last Tuesday.

 Three other PAC members - Reezal Merican Naina Merican, Mas Ermieyati Samsudin and Wilfred Madius Tangau - were also forced to step down after being named to parliament.

The bipartisan parliamentary committee currently has 13 members, comprising eight from Barisan Nasional and five from the opposition bench.

The committee consists of a chairman and vice-chairman to be appointed by the Parliament, and not less than six and not more than twelve members to be nominated by the committee of selection.

According to the parliamentary constitution, PAC can elect any one member to act as a Chairman to preside over the committee meetings in the absence of the chairman or vice-chairman due to illness or for any other reason whatsoever.