Cabinet will not be calling a special parliamentary session to appoint a new Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairperson and fill in three other PAC vacancies.

Instead, the process will only take place on Oct 19 when the Dewan Rakyat is in session, said minister in charge of parliamentary affairs Azalina Othman.

This was decided by cabinet today, which will also name the new selection committee that will appoint new PAC members on that day.

There are vacancies in the seven-member selection committee following the recent cabinet reshuffle which saw key ministers Muhyiddin Yassin and G Palanivel being dropped.

Former MP for Permatang Pauh Anwar Ibrahim, a member of the Parliament Select Committee (PSC) - which is tasked with appointing members to the various parliamentary committees, including PAC - will also have to be replaced.

Azalina said that Putrajaya is unable to expedite the PAC appointment because the selection committee must be convened before appointing new PAC members.

According to the Parliament standing orders, the House needs to debate the motion brought by a minister, to replace and appoint members of both PSC and PAC.

 

The cabinet reshuffle caused PAC's hearing into 1MDB to come to a standstill, which drew flak from the opposition and civil society. 

 

PAC chairperson Nur Jazlan Mohamed ( photo ) was appointed as deputy home minister. 

Two other PAC members Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, Reezal Merican Naina Merican, were also named deputy ministers, while Wilfred Madius Tangau was appointed minister for science, technology and innovation.

This meant they had to leave PAC.

 

However PAC can continue its hearing into 1MDB as soon as new members are appointed, said Azalina, who is also Pengerang MP.

 

"I want to stress that the government is not deliberately delaying the investigation of 1MDB by PAC," she said.

 

She hoped the PAC can also commence its probe against 1MDB again after the Auditor-General's Department has released its full report on 1MDB.

 

An interim report, which Finance Minister II Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said cleared 1MDB , was submitted to PAC on July 9. The full report is expected to be completed by end of the year.

 

Sports and Youth Minister Khairy Jamaluddin also supported the calling of a special parliamentary session.