1MDB president and group executive director Arul Kanda Kandasamy is away on official business and cannot face the Public Account Committee. – Reuters pic, May 25, 2015.
1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)'s president and group executive director Arul Kanda Kandasamy will not turn up at the Public Account Committee's (PAC) scheduled hearing on the troubled firm tomorrow, The Star Online reported, quoting sources.
Arul Kanda was said to be away on official business and, therefore, unable to attend the session, while former 1MDB chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Shahrol Halmi has reportedly asked for a month's extension to prepare for the hearing.
The Star Online said that both men "have indicated this to the PAC".
The two are key witnesses in the PAC's inquiry on Finance Ministry-owned 1MDB, which has incurred RM42 billion in debts in just six years of operations.
The parliamentary bipartisan committee began its own hearings on the matter last Tuesday, after deciding to no longer wait for an independent probe by the auditor-general to be completed.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had ordered the national auditor to conduct a probe and pass its findings along to the PAC for transparency. But mounting criticism amid exposes by whistle-blower website Sarawak Report led PAC to launch its inquiry earlier.
Shahrol was 1MDB's first CEO from February 2009 to March 2013, while Arul Kanda was appointed in January this year.
Last Tuesday, PAC began its inquiry by calling Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Irwan Serigar Abdullah, who is also a member of the 1MDB advisory board and director-general of the Economic Planning Unit Datuk Seri Dr Rahmat Bivi Abdulla.
Najib is finance minister and also chairman of 1MDB's advisory board.
- TMI
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