PKR veep backs Noraini as new PAC chair, urges Pakatan to honour pledge

KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 — A Pakatan Harapan (PH) MP today asked the ruling coalition to honour its election manifesto pledge to appoint an Opposition MP as parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman.

In debating the King’s address today, Tanjung Malim MP Chang Lih Kang, who is a PKR vice-president, proposed that a Barisan Nasional (BN) MP be appointed to head the committee in line with PH’s promise to ensure checks and balances.

“The PAC must be led by the Opposition, and we have already promised this in our manifesto.

“Before this, we had kept to our promise that it will be Beluran (MP Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee) but Beluran has since changed sides, so I call upon the government, this Dewan Rakyat, that we change the PAC chair again, to the Opposition,” he said.

“What is wrong if we give the post to my sister from Parit Sulong? A truly capable woman she is. What’s wrong?” Chang asked, referring to BN’s Parit Sulong MP Datuk Noraini Ahmad.

On Monday, PAC member Wong Chen said that the committee will convene a meeting this week over the post of its chairman, now that incumbent, Kiandee, is part of PH.

Wong said that while Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad could advise Kiandee to stay, the committee must decide the matter itself.

Kiandee, who was previously an Umno MP, had last Friday joined Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) along with three other Sabah ex-Umno MPs

He had quit to become an independent lawmaker last December.

Last week, Dr Mahathir said that Kiandee will remain as the PAC chairman despite joining PH, Bernama reported.

He reportedly said though the post was indeed allocated to be filled by an Opposition member, it was a matter of policy by the government and “not something that is institutionalised or part of a constitution.”

The Opposition had previously proposed Noraini as its choice to fill the post.