KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition lawmakers have called for the Auditor-General’s report on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) to be declassified to shed more light on the controversies surrounding the state investment arm.
PKR’s Subang MP R. Sivarasa said the report should no longer be held under the Official Secrets Act 1972 now that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has concluded its investigation.
“We were told previously that the documents could not be made public because PAC proceedings were still ongoing.
“Now that they have concluded their investigations, why is there still a need to keep it a secret? What are they trying to hide from the public?” he asked.
PAS’ Pokok Sena MP Datuk Mahfuz Omar said classifying the report would only raise more questions on the Auditor-General’s Department integrity.
“The documents should be released to the public as it involves the interest of the public,” he said.
The Dewan Rakyat has tabled the long-awaited report on 1MDB by the PAC, which among others, called for action to be taken against its former chief executive officer Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi for gross mismanagement.
It also revealed that the state investment arm’s debt stood at RM50bil as of January this year.
However, DAP’s Klang MP Charles Santiago said the report did not do justice to the people.
“There are those in the higher-ups who make the decisions and we need to understand the report fully before saying the issue is over. The issue just began,” he said.
Amanah’s MP Khalid Samad said classifying the document as an official secret would only erode the people’s confidence.
“This is not helping at all, as if there’s an attempt to cover up the corruption and abuse of power. We need to stop all these assumptions and interpretations,” said the Shah Alam lawmaker.
Earlier in the Dewan Rakyat, Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Mulia Amin said he was informed by the Auditor-General that the report made by the Public Accounts Committee on 1MDB was still classified under the Official Secret Act 1972.
"As of today, the documents has yet to be declassified and it could not be tabled in the Dewan. If I comment more on the matter, I would go against the OSA," he said.
Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Najib should be responsible for 1MDB.
"I'm sorry for the CEO, he did not found 1MDB, 1MDB is started by Najib and he is the advisor, anything that happens to 1MDB - he would know.
"Actually nothing can be done without his agreement, so why punish these men," Dr Mahathir told reporters after attending a closed-door "Deklarasi Rakyat: Realiti atau fantasi" forum at the University Malaya Alumni Clubhouse here on Thursday.
On whether 1MDB should be dissolved, Dr Mahathir said:
"They all should dissolve the whole thing. They have done nothing good at all. 42 billion dollars, show me where it is. It is here and there but we don't see it."
He also rebutted Najib's claim that his allegations about RM42bil was not true based on the PAC report.
"The report says it's not just 42 billion, but 50 billion. More than that, so I was wrong on that because I named a smaller figure and I think the 50 billion is correct, there could be more," said Dr Mahathir.
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