A ROYAL Commission of Inquiry into scandal-plagued 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) followed by punitive action against the wrongdoers is the only way to restore public confidence in the government, said HarakahDaily.

PAC is not up to solving the 1MDB problem, said the PAS mouthpiece, because it is made up of members of parliament and invested with only the power to investigate.

PAS came to this conclusion following a roundtable discussion yesterday with 1MDB representatives, economists and academicians.

The Islamist party said it is also in the interest of the country to have the problem resolved quickly, so as to shut out foreign meddling in Malaysian affairs sneaking in under the guise of “intervention”.

“We want the problem to be resolved immediately and internally.”

PAS urged that judicial institutions and law enforcement agencies should be freed to investigate and take action against those found to be guilty of crime.

“However, with respect to the enforcement agencies – Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, police, Attorney-General’s Chambers, Bank Negara, National Bank, Auditor-General, and the PAC – an RCI needs to be set up to ensure that a proper investigation is carried out and action taken against the guilty parties so that the people’s faith in the government is restored.”

PAS also wants 1MDB to be enabled to settle its debts in full as delays will incur interest charges, which could be as much as US$1.9 billion (RM8.1 billion) a year.

It also said it was satisfied that the rationalisation plan outlined for 1MDB would resolve the state investor’s problems.

“PAS hopes that the rationalisation plan will not suffer political interference.

“We want this issue to be resolved without the people being burdened.” 

The participants in the roundtable included 1MDB management staff led by president Arul Kanda Kandasamy, economist and  Bandar Tun Razak MP Khalid Ibrahim, and former legal adviser to the Terengganu sultan, Wan Ahmad Fauzi Hashim@Wan Husain. – August 8, 2017.