Minister says PAC to get new chief on Oct 19, insists not deliberate ploy to delay 1MDB probe

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 — A new line-up for Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) including its chairman will only be appointed on October 19, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman announced today.

The decision also means the panel will have to delay its inquiry into allegations of impropriety surrounding state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) though the minister in charge of parliamentary affairs was quick to add that the move was not a deliberate attempt to interfere with investigations.

“... Cabinet has decided to make the change in the Selection Committee and the appointment of the chairman and members of the PAC on the first day of the third meeting of the 13th Parliament which is on October 19, 2015,” she said in a statement this evening.

Opposition lawmakers who are current members of the bipartisan PAC have been urging the federal government to hasten the appointment of the panel’s new chairman and members to replace those from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) who have been elevated as ministers and deputy ministers following a recent revamp last month.

The MPs have been pushing for a new leader to be picked before month end, arguing that any further delay would impede the panel’s probe into the debt-riddled 1MDB.

“I stress that the Government is absolutely not delaying PAC’s investigations into 1MDB on purpose. The proceeding will continue after the appointment of a new PAC Chairman and Committee Members on October 19, 2015.

“At the same time, it is hoped that the PAC can restart its 1MDB investigations after it scrutinises the Auditor-General’s full report on 1MDB,” Azalina said in her statement.

Azalina said the Cabinet’s decision today against holding an emergency sitting of Parliament ahead of its scheduled October session as requested was because the government did not want to be “hasty” in choosing the make-up of the Parliamentary Selection Committee (PSC), which she described as “the most important committee before any other committee can be appointed including PAC in this context”.

She added that the PSC comprises lawmakers from both sides of the political divide and that the parties will likely nominate new people, including their respective parliamentary whip.

She pointed out there have been shakeups in the component parties of the ruling BN and the opposition that warranted deliberation before the new appointees could be named.

“At the same time, there have been changes in the committee representing MIC.

“For the opposition too, there is a probability that new names will be nominated from PAS following their split from the alliance with DAP and PKR,” Azalina said, with a nod to the break-up of the three-party Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact in June.

Former PAC chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed resigned from his position after he was named deputy home minister during Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s Cabinet reshuffle last month.

Aside from Nur Jazlan, three other BN lawmakers who were part of the PAC were also appointed to various ministries.

According to Parliament’s Standing Orders, PAC members may not be holders of government positions.

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia has said that any of the remaining PAC members may not chair the proceedings before a new chairman is appointed.