Tony Pua says he did not disclose 1MDB info privy to PAC

On the last day of 2015, 1Malaysia Development Berhad inked a deal with a Chinese-led consortium, selling its Bandar Malaysia for more than RM7 billion. An opposition lawmaker says the move is a bailout. – The Malaysian Insider pic, January 4, 2016. 

DAP lawmaker and Public Accounts Committee member Tony Pua, a critic of debt-ridden state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), says he has never breached Parliamentary Standing Orders by disclosing information privy only to PAC.

Refuting Gerakan secretary-general Liang Teck Meng who yesterday blasted him for making biased statements against 1MDB, which was subject of a PAC probe, Pua said even former PAC chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed had put it on record that he was much disciplined when issuing statements.

The DAP national publicity secretary said the Standing Orders stated that information provided by the relevant parties privy to the PAC was not allowed to be disclosed before it was tabled in Parliament.

“However, it does not, at any point, state that a member of the PAC must gag himself on the issue with regard to information already in the public domain.

“I’ve spoken in the past on the National Feedlot Corporation, klia2 (Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2) and the 1MDB scandals even as the PAC investigated them without any issues.
“That was because I never breached the Standing Orders by disclosing information privy only to the PAC.

“My latest statement is no different when I criticised Datuk Seri Najib Razak for claiming that the 1MDB scandal is settled, when it is far from being resolved,” he said in a statement today.

Pua, who is Petaling Jaya Utara MP, said the recently announced sale of Bandar Malaysia land to a China-led consortium was an indirect bailout by the federal government.

Putrajaya, he said, sold the former Sungai Besi airbase to 1MDB for only RM1.6 billion in 2012 and 1MDB then sold 60% of the Bandar Malaysia venture for RM7.4 billion, raking in huge profits to pay down some of the former’s enormous debt.

“Hence, 1MDB remains alive today because the taxpayers and government-related funds bailed out the excesses of the company.

“I would like to ask Liang, what is wrong for me to resolve to ‘expose the crooks behind the multi-billion ringgit scam behind 1MDB which has resulted in tens of billions of ringgit of taxpayers losses’?”

Pua also asked Liang if he was only interested to “cover up the entire scandal”.

- TMI