IPOH, Feb 21 ― The Perak Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has decided to continue with its MB Incorporated (MBInc) hearing behind closed doors after it was aborted last November when former mentri besar Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir stormed out.
Zambry had refused to testify in public, asserting then that it went against convention.
The state PAC chairman Leong Cheok Keng said today the hearing will resume on March 5 and 6 at 10am at the State Secretariat building and out of respect for the witnesses, it will not be held in public.
He told reporters after a PAC meeting that although the committee was informed by Perak assembly Speaker Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham in a letter dated February 15 that the committee was allowed to have public hearings, it still had discretion on the matter.
“With that, the committee will exercise its discretion on whether to have public or closed door hearings in the future. But for MBInc, we have decided to have the hearing behind closed doors due to request from the witnesses,” he said.
The Malim Nawar assemblyman also said if Zambry decides to bring a lawyer, he would need to write in to the committee first before appearing before the PAC.
“We will discuss and decide if he is allowed to bring a lawyer,” he added.
He said the current MBInc CEO Anuar Zainal Abidin will be called on the first day of the hearing, and Zambry and former CEO Datuk Aminuddin Hashim will testify the next day, adding that the committee secretariat will sent out letters to the witnesses by next week.
The hearing is being held after Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu revealed that MBInc incurred RM40 million in losses over three years since its revival in 2012.
