PAC back in action after eight-month hiatus

KUALA LUMPUR: After an eight-month hiatus, Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has got cracking again by declaring that it aims to table at least three reports in the next two weeks.

According to PAC chairman Wong Kah Woh (pic), who is also Ipoh Timur MP, the committee will emphasise pending cases such as the Sekolah Sukan Malaysia Perlis, the Road Charges (RC) system project, the Vehicle Entrance Permit (VEP) and the sale of land belonging to Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).

“In the coming weeks, this committee will prioritise prior pending cases, ” he said in a statement Wednesday (Nov 4).

Wong added that the PAC will take steps to complete various reports that were not finalised.

He said PAC members have been briefed on their roles and procedures by the committee’s secretariat on Tuesday (Nov 3) right after its new 12 members were appointed by the Parliament.

“Briefings were also given to PAC members regarding prior cases handled by the committee, which were pending since March, ” he added.

Wong also said the committee is set to have a packed schedule in the coming two weeks, as meetings will be held in the mornings and afternoons every day throughout the November Dewan Rakyat meeting.

He said this was to make up for “lost time” as the PAC is now active again following the appointment of 12 members to the committee.

The PAC was inactive since March after 12 of its members, including Parit Sulong MP Datuk Dr Noraini Ahmad, who was also its first female chairman, became part of the newly-formed Perikatan Nasional government.

Wong, who was previously the PAC deputy chairman, took over the role that fell vacant following the resignation of Noraini.