Public Accounts Committee (PAC) member Tony Pua has hit out at Finance Minister II Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah for lying about the auditor-general's audit on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Pua said Husni had "blatantly lied" when he said that the preliminary report by the auditor-general “has found no evidence of wrongdoing” against 1MDB.
"The minister blatantly lied about the findings in the auditor-general’s report," Pua said in a statement.
"While I will continue to refrain from referring to the specifics of the interim report, any normal person reading the report will be stunned by the sheer number and scale of infractions and transgressions committed by 1MDB and its officers cited in the report."
Husni yesterday urged critics of 1MDB to stop making unfounded allegations, claiming that the auditor-general's interim report on its audit of the company has found no evidence of wrongdoing .
"Therefore, the reckless allegations by some parties, including the 'disappearance' of RM42 billion and transfer of US$700 million to a certain individual, does not arise," Husni ( photo ) aid in a statement yesterday.
The interim report was submitted to the PAC on July 9, but it is not publicly available yet.
Meanwhile, Pua also questioned why Husni had the "special privilege" of publicly commenting and concluding on the Interim Report when the PAC members were told to keep their mouths shut.
"As a member of the PAC, we have been asked by the auditor-general to embargo the findings and information provided in the interim report on 1MDB.
"The members of PAC have hence refrained from making comments to respect the wishes of the auditor-general while awaiting the completion of the full report," Pua said.
'Statement aimed to create a false impression'
Labelling Husni's announcement as "mind-boggling", the Petaling Jaya Utara MP said Husni's statement was aimed to create the false impression that 1MDB has been cleared of all its alleged shenanigans.
"He even took the trouble to point out that the 'transfer of US$700 million to a certain individual does not arise'.
"However, we don’t know if Husni was referring to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak or businessman Low Taek Jow as he-who-must-not-be-named."
Nevertheless, Pua ( photo ) said, regardless of who Husni was referring to, the auditor-general never cleared the “transfer of US$700 million” in the interim report.
"On the contrary, the US$700 million transaction raised many suspicious questions, which the National Audit Department said it needed to investigate further before making its final conclusions.
"Therefore, while the minister had hoped that 'all the baseless allegations will be put to rest', the reverse holds greater truth," Pua said.
If the minister still believes he is right, said Pua, the interim report should therefore be made public for all to judge.
"At the end of the day, after reading the interim report, I am now convinced that all the lies, denials, mismanagement and misappropriations by 1MDB and all who are involved in the decision-making process will be duly proven and exposed."
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