KUALA LUMPUR: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is in the midst of completing its probe into Covid-19 management and Felcra Bhd, hence the demand for witnesses to attend the scheduled hearings, says its chairman Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin.
She said issues over the management of Covid-19, expired vaccines, unusable ventilator equipment and surplus personal protective equipment (PPE) have yet to be resolved.
The same goes for issues related to Minister of Finance Inc and Felcra Bhd, which Mas Ermieyati said involved the agency’s former secretary-general, former chairman and former board of directors.
“My previous statement was a reminder to all PAC witnesses, especially former senior government officials, to always be ready to attend PAC hearings when summoned.
“The PAC does not want to use the powers under Section 9 (a) of the House of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952 [Act 347] because it will have a negative impact on the individuals involved, including the possibility of arrest if the fine is not paid.
“However, we will not hesitate to use the powers provided under the relevant Act to ensure that the credibility of this committee is maintained,” she said in a statement yesterday.
Mas Ermieyati had previously said witnesses who refuse to attend PAC hearings, especially former high-ranking civil servants, will be publicly named.
She said many of the PAC proceedings involved witnesses who are former top government officials, especially control officers and secretaries-general, who were in charge of ministries, departments or government agencies that were mentioned in the Auditor-General’s annual reports.
Their presence, she added, is important to ensure that all issues raised in the reports are given a proper explanation.
Following her initial statement, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali warned that the failure of any serving or former high-ranking civil servant to appear before the PAC can be considered contempt of Parliament.
“The PAC welcomes the statement made by Zuki that all serving and former government officers must cooperate with the PAC,” Mas Ermieyati said.
She added that the PAC never had such a problem with former high-ranking government officials before. For example, former Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah attended the PAC proceedings in 2018, and commander of the navy Tan Sri Dr Abdul Aziz Jaafar made himself available in 2021.
