PAC will not compromise on 1MDB investigation

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will not compromise if there are elements of fraud found in the investigation into the government's strategic investment company, 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

Its chairman, Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said the PAC would be firm if there were fraudulent actions taken to delay the investigation involving two witnesses, 1MDB chief executive officer (CEO) Arul Kanda Kandasamy and former CEO Datuk Shahrol Halmi who were not present at the proceedings last week.

"This time if there is any proof they deceived us, we (PAC) will be more aggressive than usual," he said at a press conference after a meeting with senior officers of the Defence Ministry at the Parliament building, here, today.

Nur Jazlan said he could not confirm allegations that the two key witnesses had to attend to matters overseas.

"Everybody has listened to so many allegations, innuendos and such, and they don't know whether these are true or false and there's a tendency to declare some people as guilty.

"When they come, we will ask them whether it's true or not they were not in the country at the time they were supposed to see us," he said.

The PAC chief said all parties should not listen to the many allegations on the 1MDB issue, but should instead allow the investigation to proceed as best as possible.

On the letter to the Finance Ministry on May 25 summoning the two firms which audited the 1MDB, he said the PAC could not confirm the presence of representatives of both firms, Deloitte & Co which was scheduled to meet the PAC on June 10, and KPMG on June 17.

Earlier, Nur Jazlan said the PAC proceedings today asked the Defence Ministry to explain the construction and management of Wisma Perwira Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM) in Jalan Padang Tembak, here, following the delay in the completion of the RM103 million building.

Nur Jazlan said among the individuals who were called were Defence Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Abd Rahim Mohd Radzi and deputy secretary-general (Development) Datuk Dr Rothiah Omar as well as deputy secretary-general (Management) Datuk Mohammad Foad Abdullah.

"This is the first high-rise building built by ATM. This is the first time they have been entrusted with building a high-rise, the Wisma Perwira, with construction work beginning on Aug 28, 2009, to be completed on March 19, 2012 but experiencing a 389-day delay, as well as other issues which have been identified such as the quality of construction, contract issue and monitoring of the project," he said.

Nur Jazlan also said that PAC would be summoning two officials over the management of the construction of a Royal Malaysian Air Force College in Kepala Batas, Penang, as well as the management of infrastructure and facilities at the Army's Wisma Transit in Kuala Lumpur.