KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 ― Members of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) do not need to swear another oath of secrecy, its new chairman Datuk Hasan Arifin said today in response to the recent proposal by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Hasan explained that members of the bipartisan parliamentary panel had already taken an oath of confidentiality after being sworn in to the Dewan Rakyat.
“PAC members do not need to pledge an oath... before this, it was raised, but there is no need for that because as parliamentarians we have already pledged a vow and since PAC is part of Parliament, we made this decision,” the Rompin MP told a news conference at Parliament here.
Ahmad Zahid proposed last month for all PAC members to take another oath to maintain confidentiality of the committee’s proceedings.
He added that any statements or reports issued by the PAC should come directly from the committee and not individual members.
PAC deputy chairman Dr Tan Seng Giaw had also said there is no need for members of PAC to take an oath of secrecy as they are already required to keep committee proceedings under wraps under the House’s Standing Orders.
Dr Tan, who is also Kepong MP, said today that it would difficult to determine if a PAC member had leaked information as procedurally this would require another independent committee to be set up to investigate the case.
The confidentiality clause affixed to the PAC will also make it near impossible for an external committee to come to any conclusion as the PAC cannot reveal any details of its proceedings, he added.
Currently, contents of the PAC’s inquiries and hearing are confidential and may not be revealed before these are tabled in Parliament.
