KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 — Strategic fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) chairman Tan Sri Irwan Serigar Abdullah has refused to disclose what happened when he was called to meet the Council of Eminent Persons at Menara Ilham today.

Irwan, who was removed from his position as Treasury secretary-general on Monday, had to brief the five-member council led by former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin.

"Ask the council,” he briefly replied after the media asked him about the two-and-a-half-hour meeting.

It is believed that Irwan had to brief the council on the controversial debt-ridden 1MDB issue, after the Auditor-General declassified its audit report under the Official Secrets Act and released an executive summary yesterday.

Besides its head Daim, the council comprises former Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz, prominent economist Prof Jomo Kwame Sundaram, billionaire tycoon Tan Sri Robert Kuok (advising from Hong Kong) and former Petronas CEO Tan Sri Hassan Marican.

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said earlier today that investigations against Irwan will be conducted by the book, and that he has been placed under the Public Services Department for the remaining duration of his contract.