Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua has rubbished BN’s claim that the parliamentary standing orders prevent the auditor-general from disclosing 1MDB’s interim report to the public prematurely.

“BN strategic communications director Abdul Rahman Dahlan prefers to keep the truth in the dark by citing nonexistent clauses in the parliamentary standing order which allegedly prevents the prime minister from making public the report.

“The minister’s claim is complete and utter nonsense. 

“While the proceedings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) cannot indeed be made public until the PAC’s report is tabled in Parliament, that’s the PAC’s report and not any auditor-general’s report,” said Pua in a statement last night.

He was responding to Abdul Rahman’s claim on Friday that Prime Minister cum Finance Minister Najib Razak was prevented from disclosing the audit report on his pet project 1MDB until it is formally tabled in Parliament.

Pua and other opposition MPs had called for the audit interim report to be made public to prove that media reports alleging corrupt practices in 1MDB are false as the government claims.

“I’ve taken the trouble to relook at the parliamentary standing orders, the Audit Act 1957 and the federal constitution with regards to the role and responsibility of the auditor-general (AG).  

“I found that there is absolutely no clause which forbids the making public of any investigations, audit or findings by the AG,” he said.

Just needs PM's okay

Pua said the report could easily be released to the public with a directive from Najib.

“All that is necessary for it to happen is a directive from the finance minister whom the AG reports to,” said Pua.

He also clarified the PAC has “absolutely no power” to prevent any document that has been submitted to it from being separately released to the public.

“The question is therefore, what is the real reason why Najib is stubbornly resistant to making public the interim report, which contains more than sufficient information and documents to confirm or dispel the various confusing allegations and counter-allegations around 1MDB?

“For instance, Malaysians would be able to confirm, once and for all, if the Sarawak Report has indeed fabricated or tampered documents relating to the 1MDB-Petrosaudi investment transactions.  

“Or whether The Edge which have had their publication licenses suspended , did indeed print damaging reports against 1MDB based on ‘unverified information’,” said Pua.

As the scandal surrounding the debt-ridden 1MDB grows, financial daily The Edge had its license suspended last week over its numerous articles critical of the fund.