KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 — DAP MP Tony Pua asked today if Arul Kanda Kandasamy no longer felt the need to subject 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) to public scrutiny, noting the chief executive has remained silent since his offer to hold a dialogue more than a week ago.

Pua reminded Arul Kanda, however, that it was he who had said that scrutiny would be a “good thing” for the sovereign wealth fund as it would “strengthen the company and its governance”.

Arul Kanda, Pua added, should now state if he ever plans to open the 1MDB’s books to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

“Unfortunately, since my statement on the 17 January 2015 welcoming his offer to dialogue with me, or preferably with the PAC, I have not heard or received anything further from Arul or 1MDB.

“Hence I would like to ask, when will 1MDB testify to the PAC?  Or has the new CEO decided that perhaps, ‘public scrutiny’ isn’t such ‘a good thing’ for 1MDB after all?” Pua asked Arul Kanda in a statement here.

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP also noted that PAC chief Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed had said two days ago that although the parliamentary panel has no reason to call 1MDB in for a full audit, it would welcome Arul Kanda if the latter chooses to testify voluntarily.

Pua said the onus is now on Arul Kanda to step forward.

Last Friday, Nur Jazlan explained in Penang that there was no basis for PAC to probe 1MDB for financial irregularities as the sovereign wealth fund was already given a clean bill of health in its last audit by one of the “big four” accounting firms.

Last November, Auditor-General Tan Sri Ambrin Buang reportedly said that there is “no reason” to audit 1MDB as its books were already scrutinised earlier in the year by Deloitte, one of the big four accounting firms.

Deloitte was appointed by 1MDB in December 2013 and was the third accounting firm to audit the fund since its 2009 inception.

On January 16, Arul Kanda said in a statement that he was willing to engage Pua in a dialogue to explain the allegations of financial misappropriation levelled against the fund.

The former Abu Dhabi bank chief said that public scrutiny on 1MDB is good and always welcomed, but urged critics to be well-informed before making their criticism.

“As a company that is wholly owned by the Ministry of Finance, I believe public scrutiny of 1MDB is a good thing, and will only serve to strengthen the company and its governance.

“However, as with any company ― whether public or private, this should be done in a responsible manner,” he said.

In an immediate reaction, Pua said he was more than willing to accept the 1MDB chief executive’s offer to meet and explain the allegations surrounding the state investment fund, but added that it would be better for the latter to testify before the PAC instead.

1MDB has been under tremendous opposition scrutiny since reports broke out about its growing debt level and dubious dealings, including a RM6 billion allegedly unaccounted for investment in the Cayman Islands.

Over two weeks ago, however, the company said it has redeemed in full the US$2.318 billion (RM8.3 billion) it invested in the Cayman Islands.

1MDB had previously redeemed US$1.2 billion of the funds invested by a company registered in the Cayman Islands, and has repatriated the remaining US$1.1 billion.