KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia must determine if Public Accounts Committee (PAC) members must take the oath of secrecy suggested by the deputy prime minister, panel chief Datuk Hasan Arifin said today.
Saying he welcomed Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s proposal made yesterday, Hasan acknowledged that the legality of such an oath was yet to be determined.
Hasan also said that Pandikar was the right authority to decide if the vow was necessary, as the PAC was a parliamentary body separate from the executive.
“As PAC chairman, I leave it to the power and discretion of Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia on the matter, based on the authority granted to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker,” he said in a statement today.
Hasan then reminded PAC members that they are bound by rules of confidentiality that prevent them from disclosing contents of the committee’s hearings before these are presented to Parliament.
Zahid, who is a member of Parliament’s Selection Committee, yesterday made the suggestion, amid allegations of leaked documents from the panel.
Contents of the PAC’s inquiries and hearing are already confidential, and may not be revealed before these are tabled in Parliament.
PAC deputy chairman Dr Tan Seng Giaw said Standing Orders with clear instructions on how committee members should treat confidentiality made the suggestion redundant.
