Arul Kanda, Ali Hamsa, Apandi Ali and Dzulkifli Ahmad also likely to be called up by PAC soon.
Public Accounts Committee chairman Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee is not ruling out the possibility that former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak might be called up for questioning in its investigation over the alleged tampering into the Auditor General’s 1MDB final audit report.
“I’m not dismissing that possibility,” he said briefly to reporters in parliament on Tuesday (Dec 4), when quizzed over the matter.
Aside from former prime minister Najib, Kiandee said that former 1MDB president Arul Kanda Kandasamy, former chief secretary to the government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa, former attorney-general Tan Sri Apandi Ali, and former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad will be called up for questioning.
However, Kiandee said Arul wouldn’t be called up in December as a date has not been set yet.
“The investigations will continue into next year. We hope to conclude this (investigations) before the next parliament session reconvenes.
“So, we can have a conclusion and we will be able to table this (findings) in Parliament.”
The next Parliamentary session will reconvene on March, 2019.
Earlier Tuesday (Dec 4), former auditor-general Tan Sri Ambrin Buang was present for the PAC meeting over allegations that the final audit reports into 1MDB were tampered with.
Kiandee said the questioning session was fruitful but said that the previous team of auditors under Ambrin’s tenure, who were implicated in the alleged tampering of 1MDB final reports in 2014, might be called up for questioning.
“There is new information from Ambrin’s perspective as the A-G that audited 1MDB. That is why there are many new questions that needed to be asked and investigated.
“(They will either be called up in) January or February. I’m not sure yet,” he said, adding that the previous team consisted of five to six individuals, whose name was provided by Ambrin.
Kiandee refused to divulge anything further as investigations are still ongoing.
Meanwhile, he said that there is no deadline set for the investigations to be concluded, as the PAC is currently short of staff.
“PAC only has four staff members. Two from the Auditor-General’s office and two daily staff. We are short of staff and it will take some time.
“We hope to conclude any investigations that we are doing (before the coming Parliament session),” he said.
On Nov 23, it was reported that Najib had ordered the removal of his and fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho’s involvement in the audit report of 1MDB.
The report was confirmed by Auditor General Tan Sri Madinah Mohamad on Nov 25, saying that two crucial deletions were made to the final report of 1MDB – one on the financial status of 1MDB and the other on the presence of Low at a meeting of the 1MDB board meetings. – The Star