PM Najib can't say why Jho Low was not summoned before PAC

PARLIAMENT The prime minister cannot give feedback on the reasons why business tycoon Low Taek Jho was not summoned to testify before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

This, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman Said, is because the PAC is a bipartisan committee set up under rule 77(1) of the Standing Orders of Parliament.

Azalina said this in reply to Gelang Patah MP Lim Kit Siang, who asked the prime minister to state why Low, better known as Jho Low, was not summoned to testify before the PAC on 1MDB, since he was stated as the company’s adviser in the PAC report.

“PAC is a bipartisan committee formed under rule 77(1) of the Standing Orders of Parliament.

“Therefore, it is not the executive branch’s role to provide feedback on the matter,” Azalina said in the written parliamentary reply.

Low (on the right in photo) was the special adviser to 1MDB’s precursor, Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA).

According to The Wall Street Journal, Jho Low’s financial dealings came under the scrutiny of global investigators who are tracking more than US$6 billion allegedly siphoned out of 1MDB between 2009 and 2015.

The PAC had once expressed interest to summon Jho Low over his role in TIA, but decided not to pursue the matter after Hasan Arifin took over PAC as its chairperson.

The Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) went abroad at the end of last year to record Low’s statement.-Mkini