While he doesn't know why it was made so, former Public Accounts Committee member Reezal Merican Naina Merican doesn't see the point of making the 1MDB audit report an OSA document when it will soon be tabled in Parliament.
"I don't know what was the reason, but to me they cannot hide it out completely. Sooner or later it will go to Parliament," he told reporters after the pre-launch ceremony for the University Islam Antarabangsa Global Home Coming 2016 in Kuala Lumpur today.
Yesterday, auditor-general Ambrin Buang classified the 1MDB audit report under the Official Secrets Act (OSA), making it a secret document not for public consumption.
Prior to that, the media - except for official broadcaster RTM and national news agency Bernama - were not allowed to cover the National Audit Department's submission of the audit report to the PAC.
Meanwhile, the socio-cultural adviser to the government Rais Yatim said that the goverment must explain why the report was classified under the OSA to avoid further complications and discomfiting questions.
"I feel that it seems weird, but the matter must be addressed by the government, it must be explained...
"If not, I think the questions that may arise may weaken the current situation around us," he told journalists at the same event.
The 1MDB audit report is the last piece of the puzzle in the PAC's probe of the sovereign fund, with no more witnesses scheduled to be called before the committee.
The committee itself is supposed to finalise its report on 1MDB based on the audit.
Previous leaks of information from investigations into 1MDB allegedly from the PAC have ruffled the feathers of government officials.
Recently, attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali had threatened to increase the penalty for those who leaked state secrets classified under the OSA, vowing to take action against anyone involved, including the press who report and harbour the identity of whistleblowers. -Mkini
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