KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 ― Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman is leaving it entirely up to DAP lawmaker Tony Pua to decide whether or not to proceed with his challenge to debate 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy on issues surrounding the state investment company.
PAC chairman Datuk Hasan Arifin said the prerogative lies with Pua, who is also a member of the bi-partisan parliamentary committee.
“It is up to Tony Pua,” Hasan said without elaborating at a brief news conference at the Parliament lobby here.
Last Wednesday, Pua challenged Arul Kanda to a live televised debate following the latter’s appearance on an interview conducted by national news agency Bernama.
Arul Kanda accepted the challenge but on the condition that Pua first resign from the PAC, a suggestion backed by Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz and Barisan Nasional (BN) MP Liang Teck Meng who is also a member of the committee.
The 1MDB president, however, later changed his position and said Pua does not need to resign from the PAC in order to square off against Arul Kanda “live” on television.
The PAC will resume hearings today following the suspension of its inquiries in July, when then chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed and four BN lawmakers were recruited by the federal administration.
Prior to its suspension, the PAC had been due to question Arul Kanda and his predecessor, Datuk Shahrul Ibrahim Halmi, on August 4 and 5.
