Cabinet post is bigger challenge, says former PAC chief

Admitting that many are disappointed with him for accepting a Cabinet post, former PAC chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed says he has contributed to strengthening the bipartisan committee with support of other members. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, August 3, 2015.

Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was to have resumed its inquiry into 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) this week, with the firm’s current and former top executives due for grilling on their role in the debt-laden state investment vehicle's operations.

But last week's Cabinet reshuffle which saw PAC chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed's appointment as deputy home minister appears to have halted the hearing, as a member of the administration cannot chair the bipartisan committee.

Besides Nur Jazlan, three other PAC members were appointed as ministers and deputy ministers.

Despite insistence from PAC's opposition members that the inquiry will go on as scheduled, Dewan Rakyat Speaker said it would not continue until a new chairman and members are appointed to replace those promoted.

From August 4 to 6, PAC was scheduled to hear testimonies from 1MDB former CEOs Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi and Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman, as well as current president and group executive director, Arul Kanda Kandasamy.

Nur Jazlan has come under fire for accepting the Cabinet post and for not pursuing the inquiry, including being accused of "selling out".

Aware that his decision has made many unhappy, Nur Jazlan told The Malaysian Insider in an interview that he viewed the deputy minister’s job as a bigger challenge.

Saying he should not be blamed for taking up the post, Nur Jazlan insisted he had contributed to strengthening PAC with the support of the rest of the panel.

Below are excerpts from the interview.

Q: After your promotion, you said you will help the prime minister regain public confidence. How is this going to be done?

Firstly, I issued a statement that I took the deputy minister’s job to assist the home minister and prime minister to maintain public order and security. I did not say I was going to help the PM to regain public confidence in my new job. Maybe some other online portals that misreported my statement did not understand the Malay word for public order and wrongly translated it as public confidence.

In fact I was trying to regain public confidence in the government as the PAC chairman. We started the hearings on 1MDB unilaterally and we were in the process of calling key witnesses and then to produce a report based on consensus that will give the public a clear picture of what actually transpired in 1MDB.

The Hansard on our proceedings is verbatim and it should help the new chairman and committee members to understand better the issues, and proceed where we left off when they take their posts in October.

Anyway, the PAC members from the opposition are still in the committee. Let them decide on the future direction of the probe.

Many say the promotion of four PAC members to the Cabinet is an attempt by Putrajaya to halt the probe into 1MDB.

I don't think that accusation is fair as members of PAC are capable individuals in their own right. Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau is the president of Upko (United Pasok Momogun Kadazandusun Organisation) and rightfully promoted.

Datuk Seri Reezal Merican and Mas Ermiyatie Shamsuddin are the new young Turks in Umno and therefore, given a chance in this reshuffle. The people should look positively at the promotions as they are to refresh the leadership ranks with younger and better people who have served PAC well.

Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed with PAC deputy chairman Tan Seng Giaw and member Datuk Seri Reezal Merican, during a PAC meeting on July 10. The committee now awaits a new head and replacement members before it continues the probe into the 1MDB scandal. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, August 3, 2015.Your former deputy, Dr Tan Seng Giaw, said the PAC probe will go on, while you and the Speaker said it would only take place when Parliament reconvenes in October.

The Speaker has already made a ruling to decide the matter, as the discretion to call the PAC meeting lies with the chairman. Therefore, in a situation where the chairman's seat is vacant, a new chairman will have to be elected first before the probe can resume. That is the parliamentary rule on the matter.

DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang expressed shock that you had accepted the appointment as deputy home minister. He said it was not long ago that you said you were more keen to wrap up the probe on 1MDB, when talk came up that you would be appointed to the Cabinet.

I can understand Lim Kit Siang's feelings about my sudden departure as PAC chairman. But things change.

When the PM decided to do a reshuffle and the new Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also the home minister, decided to pick me as his deputy to assist him in a very important and difficult ministry, I saw the job a bigger challenge than PAC, so I embraced the responsibility.

Anyway, my committee had already laid the groundwork for the new committee to continue its work  without the four of us who now joined the executive branch.

By the way, many people thought we did a good job for the last two years.

You alluded to the fact that you were the first chartered accountant appointed as PAC chairman, so your background and experience would come in handy when investigating 1MDB. Will you not fight to see the 1MDB probe through? Aren't you worried about the political cost to you?

The fact is I left PAC to take on a bigger challenge which carries more risk to my career. People shouldn't blame me for that as I have contributed to strengthening the PAC with the excellent support of my colleagues.

Maybe I was wrong to also raise the hopes and expectations of the public at the same time. My decision to take the new job has made many unhappy and I expect many more people to be unhappy with me in my new job too.

However, I am still the same person and I will do my best help to strengthen the home ministry and its agencies. I know the cost to my career is high but I hope people will understand over time.

Will the new PAC be able to take up from where the old committee left off? Will they be as motivated as the old committee in finding out the truth, given recent developments, or will they be cowed?

I assume the vacancies in the new committee will be filled with equally capable people so it's not fair to prejudge their motivation and performance. I expect they will continue the work and produce their report in consensus and recommend action to be taken by the respective agencies like the Ministry of Finance, police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency and the Attorney-General, if needed.

That's the procedure and I hope people will not expect PAC to be judge and executioner at the same time.

How important is the deputy home minister portfolio to you? How do you think you can contribute to the portfolio?

The Home Ministry is probably the most important ministry in government as it handles criminal activities, public security and peace under the police.

It manages the life experience of citizens from birth to death under the National Registration Department. It handles immigration and foreign workers. It regulates the services of volunteers under Rela and a few other important functions.

As the minister will be busy with his other duties as deputy prime minister, I will have to shoulder the responsibility together with my colleague Masir Kujat.

I can contribute to running the ministry with my varied experience as a professional in the corporate sector, as a three-term MP, and in PAC of course.

But my biggest contribution would be to work with the trust the minister has in me to do the job well with high integrity. We go back 20 years as I first served him as an Umno Youth exco member when he first became the Umno Youth chief in 1996. So I don't want to disappoint him and the public.

- TMI