Sime Darby cannot be investigated by PAC

By Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) cannot conduct an investigation on Sime Darby Bhd (Sime Darby) because the conglomerate is not a government department, said PAC chairman Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid.

He said this was because Sime Darby was a subsidiary of Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) with the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) as its biggest stakeholder.

He said PNB and EPF were not defined as government departments because their financial resources were derived from individuals investors.

"For EPF, the funds are derived from its contributors whereas the funds used by PNB come from private investors," he told a press conference at Parliament lobby here today.

He said according to Point 77 of Parliamentary Standing Orders, the PAC could only check on accounts of government bodies or other organisations that are managed by state funds.

"According to the Standing Orders, Sime Darby is not an organisation that can be investigated by the PAC," Azmi said.

In May this year, Sime Darby announced a loss of about RM1.63 billion following the occurrence of cost overruns in several projects under its Energy and Utility Division.

As a result, many quarters urged the PAC to probe the losses suffered by the conglomerate.

On a different note, Azmi said PAC would call the Higher Education Ministry to provide clarification on the Muadzam Shah Polytechnic project in Pahang, which has yet to be completed although construction started about 10 years ago, as was reported in the Audit Report 2009.

He said PAC would also seek explanation from the Defence Ministry concerning the construction of the 7th Brigade Complex at the Skudai Camp in Johor and the Health Ministry pertaining to the kidney disease treatment activities.

While saying that PAC would prepare its investigation report soon, Azmi, however, refused to provide further clarification on which agencies had been investigated.