Malaysia parl't committee mulling release of 1MDB brief

By P Prem Kumar

KUALA LUMPUR

 Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is considering releasing a brief audit report on debt-ridden state firm 1Malaysia Development Bhd, based on its proceedings thus far.

Speaking to reporters at Parliament on Tuesday, opposition lawmaker and committee Vice-Chairman Tan Seng Giaw said the report would answer some public concerns until the probe continues in October when the ruling coalition nominates four new representatives to the parliamentary task force, including a chairman.

"Under public pressure, [the] PAC may have to come out with a brief report of how far it has proceeded with the 1MDB inquiry before the proceedings are suspended for nearly three months," Giaw said, flanked by four other PAC members from opposition parties.

"The report will answer some of the major questions the public might have about 1MDB, such as how big is the debt, [and] how large is the capital and asset base."

He added that the committee is presently studying the proposal, and considering the legal ramifications of any such release.

Giaw said the matter would be deliberated at the next committee meeting, which would be called soon. The brief report will be also tabled during the next Lower House sitting in October.

The bipartisan committee lost the four representatives in the July 28 cabinet reshuffle, which saw them appointed as ministers and deputy ministers.

Parliamentary rules state that a member of the government cannot be a member in PAC.

1MDB - a brainchild of Prime Minister Najib Razak - is under a time-sensitive probe by the auditor-general for financial mismanagement.

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.

The former CEO of the debt-ridden state firm, Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, was due to face the PAC inquiry Aug. 4, president and group executive director Arul Kanda Kandasamy was set to be grilled today and Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman - who served as 1MDB's CEO from March 2013 to Jan. 2015 - had been scheduled to appear Aug. 6.

The PAC unanimously decided to open proceedings into 1MDB in a special meeting held April 30, having previously said it would wait for the Auditor-General's report before beginning its own probe.

The Auditor-General's report will remain private until the end of the year, while the PAC brief report is based on its probe and hearings from 1MDB auditors and experts since May.