The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has dismissed claims by 1MDB that the notice for its officials to appear before the committee was too short.

PAC chairperson Nur Jazlan Mohamed ( photo ) also said the PAC might compel Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to appear before the hearing.

On the notice for 1MDB, Nur Jazlan said the Finance Ministry was notified on May 6 that 1MDB president Arul Kanda and former CEO Shahrol Halmi must appear before the committee on May 26.

T he Finance Ministry is the 100 percent owner of 1MDB, which is now the subject of investigations by PAC.

"We do not send letters directly to the witnesses... we send it to the supervising ministry.

"As far as we are concerned, we gave ample notice, of more than two weeks. So whether Arul got the notification late is not our concern," Nur Jazlan said.

Previously, Arul claimed that the Finance Ministry only notified the company of the matter on May 21 .

PAC received a reply from Arul, seeking a 30-day extension, on May 22.

Arul claimed that he and Shahrol had prior commitments abroad and needed time to prepare the necessary documents for the hearing.

Nur Jazlan said the committee would allow the time extension, especially since fresh information on 1MDB kept cropping up.

"If they testify, and new information comes out, we will need to call them again.

"So, to be fair, we will give them time. But only one time," he said.

Nur Jazlan said Arul ( photo ) and Shahrol would be called after 1MDB's auditors are questioned.

Deloitte & Co and KPMG have both been summoned to testify before the PAC on June 10 and June 17 respectively.

Asked about Terengganu Investment Authority's memorandum and articles of association which state that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's written approval was needed for any financial commitment, Nur Jazlan said this was public knowledge.

Will Najib testify?

He said the information is available with the Registrar of Companies. However, he claimed not to have seen the document himself.

As to wherther the PAC would also question Najib, Nur Jazlan said the committee would decide on this later.

"Sabar lah (Be patient). We will follow the steps. First we will call the supervising officers, then the management, then the auditors, and then only we will call the board.

"Once we get all that information, then we can decide who to call next, and that may include the prime minister," he said.

Nur Jazlan urged the people to be patient, and not to attack the PAC while it is conducting the investigation.

"I hope the public will not be in hurry, we have only just started our investigations.

"We have to be thorough… and the PAC does not want to be influenced by any party.

"Meddling will make the PAC report not credible, and when PAC members are attacked and questioned, the people will devalue the report," he said, urging everybody to let the committee do its job.

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