Jho Low called to appear before panel on Sept 8

PETALING JAYA: Businessman Low Taek Jho (pic), better known as Jho Low, has been summoned before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) over the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) controversy.

The PAC sent a letter to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) yesterday calling for him to appear before the bi-partisan parliamentary committee on Sept 8.

PAC chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said the letter was sent to the MoF because it was “the main shareholder of 1MDB”.

“They should know his whereabouts or be able to trace him,” Nur Jazlan told The Star.

He said aside from Jho Low, the PAC summoned the directors of Brazen Sky, a company that 1MDB had invested RM6bil in, to appear before it and set Sept 9 for this meeting.

He said the PAC wanted to question these people due to the findings of the Auditor-General’s interim report on the government-owned 1MDB, which has amassed RM42bil in debts.

The report, submitted on July 9, covers the period between Feb 23, 2009 and March 30, 2014 when the Terengganu Investment Authority was formed, its takeover by the Federal Government and its subsequent transformation into 1MDB.

Asked how the MoF would trace Jho Low, Nur Jazlan said “this is not the PAC’s problem”.

He said the MoF was a government institution that had resources at its disposal.

“It can get the police to locate him,” he added.

The PAC began investigating 1MDB in May and summoned MoF officials to explain the ministry’s role in the debt-ridden company.

Nur Jazlan said the issue at hand was good governance and the responsibilities of those who were managing 1MDB.

All of 1MDB’s auditors testified before the committee in June.

On Aug 4 and 5, 1MDB’s past and present chiefs Datuk Sharol Halmi and Arul Kanda will go before the PAC while 1MDB’s board of directors will testify on Aug 17.

The committee will submit its findings and recommendations to Parliament after the investigation is completed.