KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 — Federal lawmakers from Umno and other Opposition parties in the Public Accounts Committee should withdraw to protest the retention of Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee as the chairman, said Tan Sri Annuar Musa.
The Umno secretary-general said the failure to replace Kiandee, who is now part of the ruling coalition, was a clear departure from the Pakatan Harapan (PH) election manifesto that pledged to reserve the role for the Opposition.
“On principle, not only should Nurul Izzah withdraw, Umno and the Opposition should also pull out from participating in the PAC,” he said on Twitter today.
Last week, Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar said she was resigning from the PAC over, among other reasons, PH’s refusal to replace Kiandee as the committee’s chairman.
Kiandee was formerly with Sabah Umno but resigned to become an independent lawmaker prior to joining PPBM.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the coalition will replace Kiandee once a suitable replacement is found but insisted there was no urgency to do so.
He added that there were no legal repercussions if PH did not immediately install an Opposition lawmaker as the head of the PAC.
Aside from Nurul Izzah, other PH lawmakers in the administration and in the PAC have expressed misgivings about keeping Kiandee on in the role.
The PAC is a parliamentary watchdog with extensive powers to investigate activities in the government including summoning ministers for questioning.
