MP: If audit report can be tabled, why not 1MDB’s?

The ability of the government to table the auditor-general’s 2015 report in Parliament raises the question why the one on 1MDB remains cloaked in secrecy.

“If the auditor-general’s reports uncovering billions of ringgit of abuses and wastages by government departments can be tabled in Parliament and made public, why can’t the auditor-general’s Report on 1MDB be similarly tabled as well?” asked Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua.

He said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman and Raub MP Ariff Sabri’s reasons for keeping the report out of the House did not hold water.

Azalina had told Parliament the public accounts committee's (PAC) had already been tabled hence there was no need for the tabling of the audit report, while Ariff had said the latter was under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) to ensure there was no leakage of information throughout the PAC proceedings.

“The responses by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department demonstrate the entrenched culture of secrecy and opacity to cover up the shenanigans which are linked to the top political leadership of Umno and BN.

“Just because the PAC tables its own findings and conclusions on 1MDB, does not mean that the auditor-general’s report cannot be tabled as an appendix as well,” said Pua in a statement.

[More to follow]

-Mkini