PARLIAMENT | Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar gave his assurance that the relevant government agencies would be instructed to start investigating the revelations made in the Pandora Papers.
He also said the results of the investigations would be handed over to Parliament once ready.
“I give my assurance that I will invite all the (relevant) agencies like MACC, Bank Negara Malaysia, the police’s Commercial Crimes Department and so on, to convey the instruction from the prime minister to start the investigation.
“And Insya-Allah, we will discuss and set a date to give the answer to Parliament after we have found whatever results from the investigation,” Wan Junaidi said in the Dewan Rakyat today during the question-and-answer session.
He was answering a question from opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim (Harapan-Port Dickson), who had questioned whether the government would instruct the relevant agencies to take action to resolve the issue of illicit financial flows, following the Pandora Papers’ revelations.
Earlier, Wan Junaidi said the MACC has yet to start the investigation into the Pandora Papers as it is still getting further information about the revelations.
He said the MACC is also discussing with other agencies, including Bank Negara, to ensure the coordination of the probe goes smoothly.
“In this matter, the government will not interfere with the authorities if there are any reports against any parties or individuals that require additional investigation,” Wan Junaidi said.
Anwar then questioned Wan Junaidi about the lack of action from the government regarding Malaysia’s bad track record with illicit financial flows.
He referred to a 2012 report by Global Financial Integrity (GFI) which ranked Malaysia fifth in terms of the highest illicit financial flows that year.
“How can we be confident that there will suddenly be results when there has been no action taken for so long?” Anwar asked.
Wan Junaidi urged him to give the new government a chance to prove itself.
“It is a different government, so its actions will also be different. So give a chance to Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and myself to assure that we will take action on this now,” he said.
Relevant individuals
Following a suggestion from Ahmad Maslan (BN-Pontian) that the individuals named in the Pandora Papers be called to explain themselves in the Dewan Rakyat, Wan Junaidi once again assured he and the prime minister will speak to those involved.
“Insya-Allah, we will inform every relevant individual to explain themselves, if allowed to in Parliament,” he said.
Previously, MACC had said it would cooperate with Bank Negara and other investigative agencies to prove revelations made in the Pandora Papers.
The Pandora Papers is a trove of documents leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), of which Malaysiakini is a partner.
The data dump was from firms that helped clients set up offshore trusts and entities in tax havens.
Malaysians named in the leak include Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, deputy finance minister Yamani Hafez Musa, Bagan Datuk MP and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Selayang MP William Leong and former finance minister Daim Zainuddin.
All individuals said their dealings with offshore entities, including owning or sitting on the boards of such firms, were legitimate, and due taxes had been paid for any assets and earnings related to the offshore companies. - Mkini
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