THE Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has only managed to convene once this year while other cases have been delayed due to the suspension of parliament, said its chairman Wong Kah Woh.

Wong told The Malaysian Insight the PAC has looked into only one case – that of the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines by the Health and Science, Technology and Innovation Ministries – on January 5.

He said the parliamentary committee was supposed to resume work on January 11.

“However, that was postponed first due to the pandemic and then the emergency,” he said.

“The speaker had issued a statement after the proclamation of emergency to say that house committees could hold proceedings.

“However, he later took the position that under the emergency, proceedings could not be called,” Wong said on whether the committee had met while parliament was suspended.

Most of the PAC’s delayed cases are linked to the Defence Ministry.

This includes the case of the procurement of second generation patrol vessels for the Royal Malaysian Navy involving former defence minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and a former navy admiral.

Proceedings into the case were supposed to be held on January 12-13.

The PAC was also due to commence proceedings into land swap cases at the Hutan Melintang camp and the enforcement of security in the maritime zone.

Other cases on the 2021 calendar are interest claims over delayed PR1MA projects involving the Housing and Local Government Ministry and the Education Ministry’s tube well system maintenance project in rural schools in Sabah and Sarawak.

State-owned trustee company Amanah Raya Bhd is also due to appear before the committee this year.

The PAC members were also to have conducted site visits to verify the responses from the ministries on several cases.

Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan, who is also in charge of parliamentary affairs, has indicated that the house will not convene until the emergency ends on August 1.

This is despite consent from Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah for parliament to meet during the emergency. – March 30, 2021.