Standing Orders prevents A-G’s 1MDB report release, says deputy Speaker

The Auditor-General's investigation into the 1MDB controversy was called for by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak even before the PAC decided to start its own probe. – Reuters file pic, July 27, 2015.

The Auditor-General's (A-G) interim report on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) cannot be made public until it is tabled in Parliament, Dewan Rakyat deputy Speaker Datuk Ronald Kiandee said today, weighing on a debate between two lawmakers over disclosing findings on the debt-ridden state investor to the public.

Tweeting at his official handle @rkiandee, the deputy speaker said, "The AG report has been handed to the PAC and is now part of the evidence. (As such) Standing Order 85 applies".

Standing Orders 85 deals with premature publication of evidence and states that "evidence taken before any Select Committee and any documents presented to such Committee shall not be published by any member of such Committee, or by any other  person, before the Committee has presented its Report to the House".

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.Kiandee (pic) had tweeted his statement to Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government minister Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan, who was in a debate over Twitter and in the media with Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua over the matter.

Pua had last week urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to make the findings of the report public to clear all the misinformation and confusion over the scandal.

This included all the issues raised by whistleblower site Sarawak Report and The Edge media group, including allegations of data tampering in the state investment vehicle's aborted deal with PetroSaudi International (PSI).

However, Rahman (pic) had said Pua's suggestion was not applicable.

In a series of tweets three days ago, the Umno minister had said the prime minister did not have the power to make the interim report public since it was bound by a parliamentary standing order.

"In fact, information submitted or discussed in the PAC cannot be made public by members of the PAC until they are submitted to Dewan Rakyat.

"This ruling is made so that no member of PAC can discuss an incomplete investigation or enquiry outside PAC, so as not to mislead the public," he had tweeted.

However, Pua (pic), a staunch critic of 1MDB, said Rahman was speaking "complete and utter nonsense" and insisted that Najib, as the finance minister, had the power to direct the A-G to make public his findings.

"While the proceedings of the PAC cannot indeed be made public until the PAC’s report is tabled in Parliament, that is the PAC’s report and not any A-G’s report.

"PAC has absolutely no power to prevent any document submitted to the committee to be separately made available to the public or any other party," said Pua, who also sits on the bipartisan committee.

Finance Ministry-owned 1MDB has come under public scrutiny mainly because of the whopping RM42 billion debts that it has racked up since its inception in 2009. The strategic fund had also sacked two of its auditors, KPMG and Ernst & Young, in a span of four years.

1MDB has not been able to generate enough earnings to service its debts. This raises public concerns over some of its debt papers issued with the government’s letter of support – meaning the government is responsible for the fund’s debt repayment should it default.

Consequently, the investment fund is currently stepping up efforts to hive off its assets, namely power generation plants and land, to ease its extremely tight cash flow.

1MDB is being investigated by a special government task force that includes the anti-graft agency, and is also under a separate inquiry into its accounts by the A-G, with a full report by the national auditor due by the end of this year.

The 1MDB interim report was forwarded to the PAC on July 9 even as the bipartisan panel conducted its inquiry into the debt-laden state investment vehicle.

- TMI