Ariff takes hands-off approach, will let PAC deal with 1MDB audit report

Dewan Rakyat speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof has stated that he will not interfere with the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) investigation into allegations that former premier Najib Abdul Razak tampered with the auditor-general’s report on 1MDB.

On Nov 26, DAP Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang had urged the House to refer Najib to the parliamentary Privileges Committee for allegedly tampering with the 1MDB audit report.

Lim made the call after auditor-general Madinah Mohamad claimed that Najib and others had instructed that parts of the audit report be deleted or revised in 2016.

When asked to respond to Lim’s statement, Ariff said: "You see, we have PAC. As speaker, I don't interfere with PAC. They will have a large say in what to look into, that's how the system works.

"Otherwise, it will become untidy," he said.

Ariff is chairperson of the Privileges Committee.

He was attending a roundtable on electoral reform, which was jointly held by Parliament and electoral watchdog Bersih today.

The PAC is set to conduct proceedings into tampering allegations concerning the 1MDB audit report on Dec 4.

[More to follow]  -Mkini