Rompin MP Hasan Arifin is set to take over as the head of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) when Parliament convenes on Monday.

This is according to the parliamentary order paper for the day which was sighted by Malaysiakini .

Hasan's appointment is set as the second agenda of the day and will be proposed by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Prior to that, Najib will propose the first agenda whereby Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, MIC president Dr S Subramaniam and opposition leader Wan Azizah Wan Ismail will be appointed into the parliamentary select committee.

They will replace Pagoh MP Muhyiddin Yassin, Cameron Highlands MP G Palanivel and jailed former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim respectively.

The order paper reads: "That the honourable Hasan Arifin, MP for Rompin, is chosen to replace the honourable Nur Jazlan Mohamed, MP for Pulai, as the chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee for the 13th Parliament".

Hasan has only been an MP for five months after winning the Rompin by-election in May.

When contacted last night, the Umno lawmaker declined to confirm his appointment.

"I don't know, I have no idea," he told Malaysiakini .

Hasan added that he could only confirm the matter after tonight's pre-council meeting.

Regarded as PM’s man

The Rompin by-election was triggered following the death of Jamaluddin Jarjis, a close ally of Najib, who was credited with handling the premier's psywar campaigns.

Hasan, 62, is also seen as the prime minister's man, having started his Umno career in Pekan, which is Najib’s constituency.

He joined Umno in 1976, the same year Najib became Pekan MP. He rose to become Pekan Umno division committee member two years later and Pekan Umno Youth chief in 1984.

He subsequently moved to the Rompin division, also as youth chief and later became the Rompin division chief from 1990 to 2004.

Hasan's experience in the legislature was when he became Bukit Ibam state assemblyperson and was appointed deputy Pahang menteri besar between 1995 and 1999.

All eyes will be on Hasan's leadership as the PAC, which was investigating Najib's controversial brainchild 1MDB, was abruptly put on ice in July.

This was after Najib co-opted its then chairperson Nur Jazlan and three other members into the government.

The move was seen as a bid to scuttle the PAC's investigation into 1MDB.

On the same day of the appointments, Najib also removed ministers who were critical of him on 1MDB while the attorney-general, who was coordinating probes into the company as well as the deposits of RM2.6 billion into the premier's personal bank accounts, was replaced.

The PAC's probe had been frozen since then pending the appointment of new members to the committee.

It remains to be seen whether the PAC will press on with the probe under Hasan's leadership.