A DAP lawmaker has lambasted Second Finance Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah for "chickening out" on answering pertinent questions regarding the 1Malaysia Development Berhad-PetroSaudi issue during his winding up speech in Parliament last night.

    

"He (Ahmad Husni) first referred to the US$700 million 'embezzlement' by Jho Low's controlled entity, Good Star Limited by claiming that the issue is already being investigated by the Auditor-General and the police. He then said that it is best to wait for the outcome of the investigations.

 

"When pressed by PKR MP Sim Tze Tzin, Husni even put up the pretence of holding and flipping the parliamentary standing orders while seeking guidance from the deputy speaker as to whether he needs to answer the questions.  

"The deputy speaker then granted permission to the minister to choose not to answer the questions," said Tony Pua in a statement.

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP said Husni "deserved an Oscar" because there is no clause in the standing order which prohibits a minister from responding to questions on cases which are being investigated either by the auditor-general or the police.

Pua noted that opposition lawmakers sought the confirmation of facts such as to whether 1MDB transferred US$700 million into the Swiss bank account of Good Star Limited and the reason for 1MDB doing so.  

"The minister could definitely have answered these questions of fact without delving into the question of whether any crimes have been committed.

 

"The fact that the sheer scale of the scandal which has attracted international scrutiny received such cursory responses in Parliament showed that the BN government isn't at all serious about corruption, embezzlement and abuse of power.  

"The refusal by the minister to answer these crucial questions proved beyond doubt that the government is attempting to cover-up the scandal and postpone the fallout," he alleged.

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