PAC satisfied with 1MDB interim report

Raided: Police personnel carrying boxes of documents and a CPU from the 1MDB office in Menara IMC, Kuala Lumpur.

KUALA LUMPUR: More questions arose following the completion of the Auditor-General’s interim audit report on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Public Accounts Committee chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed (pic) was grilled by the media after the report was presented to the committee on Thursday.

Nur Jazlan appeared agitated when reporters kept asking whether there were any discrepancies or wrongdoings found in the interim report.

“It is too premature to tell. However, we are satisfied with the way the investigations are carried out,” he said at a press conference in Parliament.

The Pulai MP, who was accompanied by two other PAC members at the press conference, was further grilled on action that could be taken if 1MDB refused to hand in the documents.

“It is a company under the Ministry of Finance. They should be able to provide them with the necessary documents,” he said.

All PAC members except for Tumpat MP Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar attended the meeting.

The interim report covers the chronology of events relating to 1MDB and financial statements from Feb 27, 2009 to March 30, this year.

The PAC is expected to summon 1MDB’s past and current chief executive officers Datuk Shahrol Halmi and Arul Kanda Kandasamy on Aug 4 and 5.

When asked whether there was any suspicion raised in the report, Nur Jazlan waved the 70-page document saying, “there is a lot for us to digest.” He added that it gives the PAC good “conclusive information” on how to question 1MDB’s top executives.

On the meeting, a PAC member, who declined to be named, said that the inquiry went smoothly just like any other proceeding.

“Both sides of the political divide asked the AG questions.

“And we received satisfactory answers from the AG,” he said.

Another PAC member, who also refused to be identified, said that several members were seen “shaking their heads” when the report was explained by the AG.

“Everybody wanted to know the truth and we applaud the AG for doing a good job,” he said.

The final report is expected to be tabled by year end.

When approached, Auditor-General Tan Sri Ambrin Buang said that the document was just an interim report.

“We have given them a lot of information and it is up to them to use,” he said.