NAJIB CAUGHT HOOK LINE & SINKER? BOMBSHELL – ‘SPECIFIC PEOPLE’ IN POWER ORDERED AUDITOR-GENERAL’S REPORT ON 1MDB TO BE AMENDED 2 YEARS AGO

The 2016 Auditor-General’s Department’s report on 1MDB was tampered with, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

The allegation was made by Wong Kah Woh (Harapan-Ipoh Timur) during the debate on the mid-term review of the 11th Malaysia Plan.

During his speech, Wong said several enforcement agencies such as the MACC, Attorney-General’s Chambers and Bank Negara were “paralysed” by the previous BN administration because of the 1MDB scandal.

He said the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which Wong now sits in as the deputy chairperson, and the Auditor-General’s Department was affected as well.

“The audit report (on 1MDB) was classified as a state secret under the Official Secrets Act 1972. In fact, there was an abuse of power, where the original audit report was amended on the instructions of specific people.

“Luckily, there was a change of government on May 9. Only then all these can be revisited,” he said.

Meanwhile, former auditor-general Ambrin Buang declined to comment when contacted by Malaysiakini.

“No comment from me, thank you,” he said.

When contacted later, Wong declined to elaborate on the contents of the audit report which he claimed was amended as he was bound by the Standing Orders.

However, a source with knowledge of the matter told Malaysiakini that the “missing” contents would have put the previous administration in bad light.

“The amendment was done at least two years ago,” said the source on condition of anonymity.

In 2014 and early 2015, allegations on problems within 1MDB along with stories on Jho Low’s flamboyant lifestyle intensified and began to hog international headlines.

A key allegation that was dogging the Najib Abdul Razak-administration at the time, which is now verified to be true, was the transfer of US$700 million from 1MDB to Seychelles-registered Good Star Ltd, which has now been established as a company controlled by Low.

By March 2015, Najib had instructed the Auditor-General’s Department to audit 1MDB’s account and pass it on to the PAC for further investigation. He promised that the process would be a “transparent” one.

Almost a year later, the 500-page report was ready, but Putrajaya took the unusual step of classifying the report, limiting its use to the PAC only.

In the end, the Najib-administration would claim that the bi-partisan PAC had cleared him of any wrongdoing, although the report had highlighted many irregularities with 1MDB’s business.

The audit report was eventually declassified on May 15, after Pakatan Harapan took control of the federal government.

mkini