KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 — 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) chief Arul Kanda Kandasamy denied today that he and former CEO Datuk Shahrol Ibrahim Halmi are skipping the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearing on the debt-laden state-owned firm, saying they are planning another date as they cannot make it tomorrow.
“Both, Arul Kanda and Datuk Shahrol Halmi, look forward to appearing before the committee and having the opportunity to clarify 1MDB’s position,” Arul Kanda said in a statement sent to Malay Mail Online.
“As has been previously stated by the company, 1MDB will extend its full cooperation to the Public Accounts Committee. In line with this, the company has confirmed that Arul Kanda, President & Group Executive Director, and Datuk Shahrol Halmi, Member of the Board of Directors, will appear before the committee.
As confirmed by the chairman of the PAC earlier today, the date for this appearance is currently being finalised, due to a date proposed earlier being in conflict with previously scheduled overseas commitments,” the 1MDB president and group executive director added.
PAC chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed told reporters earlier today that his committee has, for now, agreed to skip plans to question Arul Kanda and Shahrol and that it will move on instead to quiz the three firms that audited 1MDB.
1MDB has become a major sticking point for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who has come under intense pressure over the past few months over allegations of mismanagement of the state-owned fund that led to it racking up some RM42 billion in debt from the time it was incorporated in 2009.
Last week, second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said 1MDB’s US$1.103 billion (RM3.9 billion) redeemed from a Cayman Islands account and parked in Singapore’s BSI Bank was in the form of assets and not cash, as previously claimed by Arul Kanda.
Apart from the PAC, the Auditor-General is also conducting a probe on 1MDB and is expected to deliver a report to Putrajaya early next month.
