KUALA LUMPUR, May 26 — Datuk Seri Nazir Razak said it was “unacceptable” for 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) chief executive Arul Kanda Kandasamy and his predecessor Datuk Shahrol Ibrahim Halmi to miss the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearing today.

Taking to the Instagram photo-sharing social network, the CIMB Group chairman and brother to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said their intentional absence was insufferable given how the firm’s problems have affected the country.

“Your company has triggered a national crisis and you can be too busy to face Parliament?

“Unacceptable,” he said.

Yesterday, PAC chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said his committee has for now agreed to skip plans to question Arul Kanda Kandasamy and Shahrol as both will be unable to attend a PAC hearing scheduled for today.

The news drew flak from mostly opposition leaders who called their absence a mockery of Parliament and indication of problems at the state-owned investment firm.

Nazir had previously criticised 1MDB’s board directors for not proactively seeking to answer allegations against the firm.

He had also called for their resignation.

Nazir said a conscientious board of directors would have swiftly hired independent auditors to vet its accounts to answer the growing suspicions over the state-owned investment firm’s finances.

The PAC was initially scheduled to question both Arul and Shahrol today over 1MDB’s dealings as part of the committee’s probe into the state-owned fund.

Both witnesses also requested for a 30-day postponement to their hearing from the date of their letter, on grounds that they needed time to prepare the relevant information and documents that may be required by the committee.

Aside from the PAC, the Auditor-General is also conducting an audit on the accounts of 1MDB, which has reportedly amassed debts of some RM42 billion since it was incorporated in 2009.