Tabling of 1MDB audit report postponed to March

[PETALING JAYA] The tabling of the Auditor-General's final report on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) has been postponed to next month, the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said.

In a statement on Tuesday, PAC chairman Datuk Hasan Arifin said the tabling of the audit report, which was set for Feb 24 and 25, had been deferred to March.

"It has been postponed because many of the board members are overseas. Some of them have gone for Umrah (pilgrimage) while others have important commitments. The presence of all PAC members at the tabling of the 1MDB report by the A-G is of utmost importance," he said.

Mr Hasan added that the committee expected the final report to be tabled in the first week of March. However, no date was specified.

When contacted earlier, PAC deputy chairman Tan Seng Giaw said he was not aware of the postponement.

"Of course, I understand that if most members cannot attend, the chairman has no choice but to postpone it, so we will see what happens," he said.

On Feb 11, Mr Hassan said that the focus for the PAC was to listen to the A-G's final report and complete its own report.

He said that the committee would consider calling in more witnesses to assist in the PAC report after the A-G's report was tabled.

"Our priority is to listen to AG's final report on 1MDB and to complete our report," he had said.

The probe by PAC - a bipartisan panel in the Malaysian Parliament - into the debt-ridden 1MDB has been going on since May last year.

Formed in 2009, the state investor came under heavy criticism for racking up debts of RM42 billion (S$14 billion) in its first five years of existence and opaque deals.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK