KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 — Parliament Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul today declared that the Auditor-General Report 2021 will be debated in Parliament.
He exercised his authority under Standing Order 100 and allowed the motion to debate the report that was raised by the government earlier today, which led to a commotion by the Opposition.
“I want to use my powers under Standing Order 100, that my decision is final. So later this afternoon, we will come back to discuss this report openly,” he told the Dewan Rakyat.
“What is happening at the moment is, the Public Accounts Committee has come up with their own report and inquiry but unfortunately many of the points mentioned by the PAC are not reported to the public.
“I have met with the current and former PAC chairmen as well as government officials that had worked on the report. God willing, I think that the report should be discussed in the Dewan,” he added.
Johari was referring to the commotion erupted in the Dewan Rakyat following the move by Perikatan Nasional (PN) MPs to object to the motion to debate the audit report.
However, the Speaker’s decision did not go down well with the Opposition PN.
Opposition Chief Whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Bharu) claimed the move to allow the debate was unprecedented, adding that in the past, the audit report was just put on each MP’s table in the Dewan Rakyat.
“Based on our checks of Parliament, the report by the head of the national audit has never been debated.
“I believe that the motion to debate the audit report could be against Parliament's Standing Orders and the Federal Constitution.
“Action must be taken with that part of motion, but a debate is not necessary,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat this afternoon.
Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (PN-Masjid Tanah), who is also PAC chairman, added that the motion to debate the audit report was not necessary because it was under her committee’s jurisdiction.
“Are you aware that the position of the Auditor-General has not been filled since February this year?
“If the position is not filled, how can we debate the report? The person is the one responsible for the audit report,” she said.
Despite the Opposition’s objections, the Speaker said he allowed the debate on the Auditor-General’s 2021 Report because it is in the nation’s interest.
He added that it would be the duty of the PAC chair and its 12 members to decide the content to be discussed during the debate.
Johari acknowledged that there have been numerous requests for such reports to be openly debated based on his experience as a former civil servant and an elected representative of 15 years.
“Many have asked for such reports by the Auditor-General to be debated openly. I hereby order this to be debated,” he said.
