PAC never had the chance to question Najib over 1MDB, says Pua

Updated 6 years ago · Published on 24 Mar 2018 3:02PM · 6 Comments

Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua says the Public Accounts Committee investigation was limited in scope and focus in reviewing 1Malaysia Development Bhd's financial statements. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, March 24, 2018.

PRIME Minister Najib Razak’s claim that the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) investigation into 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) had cleared him of wrongdoing is fake news as the parliamentary body never got the chance to question him after its chief was replaced, DAP lawmaker Tony Pua said today.

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP who was on the PAC when it held investigations into 1MDB in 2015, said Hasan Arifin who replaced Nur Jazlan Mohamed as committee chief had “rejected all attempts to summon the prime minister to testify to the PAC”.

Pua said Nur Jazlan had agreed that the committee should summon Najib for questioning on his role in 1MDB. Najib, who is Finance Minister, founded 1MDB and was chairman of its advisory board.

The PAC had wanted to question Najib as Treasurer-General Irwan Serigar told the committee that it was Najib who was responsible for all major decisions made by 1MDB.

“The BN members of the PAC blocked all such attempts with the excuse that (the) ‘prime minister is not involved’ or ‘Najib Razak isn’t relevant to the investigation,’” Pua said in a statement today.

Pua was responding to Najib’s claim last night that the PAC had cleared him of any wrongdoing.

“Was there a line in the report to say that I had stolen 1MDB money? The answer is no. Were there anything in there that said I had committed an offence? The answer is no. Was the money that came from Saudi Arabia 1MDB money? Absolutely not,” Najib had said at a National Transformation Programme (NTP) last night.

Pua said the PAC probe was limited in scope and focus in reviewing 1MDB’s financial statements.

“There was no scope given for investigating the purported RM2.6 billion ‘donation’ that went into the personal bank account of the prime minister,” he said.

He added that 1MDB had never submitted its financial statements of its overseas bank accounts to the Auditor-General (AG) and the PAC despite repeated requests.

“Yes, the PAC report didn’t say Najib stole money from 1MDB. However, the PAC Report also didn’t say that the prime minister didn’t steal money from 1MDB.

“Without crucial documents and evidence, how in the world could the PAC ever claim that Najib never took money from 1MDB?” – March 24, 2018.

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Comments

  • If All Malaysian are buying what the PM is admitting now, are fools. We all knew what he did then to admit today he's innocent. This guy has a skin as thick as a PIGaand a tongue twisser....he has taken the makaysians as fools with his innocence. After all these, he still has the guts to admit he's still innocent! Great act of stupidity..

    Posted 6 years ago by Crishan Veera · Reply

  • Right now he can always say and we are hearing that he is cleared of the charges and innocent as his regime ensures that he will not be incriminated. Let's wait post GE14 and if UmnoBN is out, he can plead not guilty and we can still hear but will seriously listen.

    Posted 6 years ago by Lee Lee · Reply

  • You listen to the OVERENTITLEMENT, THE ARROGANCE - the mentality is not MEDIEVEAL - not just third world in these days and age. This is no man who can take the country anywhere. Check the productivities numbers carefully, take out the the illegal migrant population, and the productivity is zero. With mounting debt, he is heading this country to ruins. His mega projects ALL LOSES MONEY and work goes to foreign workers.

    Posted 6 years ago by Bigjoe Lam · Reply

  • So Pua is suggesting the BN members on the PAC were preventing the course of justice. This is a criminal offence in most jurisdiction.......not in BOLEHLAND!

    Posted 6 years ago by Matt H · Reply

  • Where on earth a thief readily admitting that he stole something

    Posted 6 years ago by Leslie Chan · Reply

  • In the 1MDB account, the payment of USD 700 million to Good Star as 1MDB's capital input into the PetroSaudi joint venture would raise no question. Unless the auditor of account had prior information as to the real owner of Good Star at that material time was not IPIC, but Jho Low, he might want to ask questions. Else the account is certified. The issue would arise when 1MDB has to make payment again on account which 1MDB claimed it had already settled. Thus the decision of the London Commission of International Arbitration that 1MDB is liable to make payment to IPIC plus interest on its hare of capital in the joint venture with PetroSaudi should demand forensic auditing on 1MDB accounts. The London Commission's demand for 1MDB to settle with IPIC what it owed to IPIC came after PAC report had been tabled. So the PAC had not covered this aspects of cheating by 1MDB, though PAC has other areas of funny dealings to report. If Najib claims that PAC cleared him, why then is PAC report is still a classified document? Only one person, the AG clears PM, but millions others think that the MO1 identified by DOJ of USA is guilty of corruption. They too believes that MO1 is Najib. Indeed one UMNO minister confirmed that MO1 in the report is Najib. A few days later, MO1 will be an item of fake news, when the law on fake news passes the parliament.

    Posted 6 years ago by Meng Kow Loh · Reply