The no-show of 1Malaysia Development Berhad's top officials at a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearings has raised questions on whether they were genuinely 'busy' or are trying to avoid testifying.
This is after 1MDB president and executive director Arul Kanda and former CEO Shahrol Halmi asked for a 30-day extension as they were supposedly on official businesses overseas.
In a statement today, DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang ( photo ) highlighted the abrupt timing of the two top guns going missing in action, pointing out that 1MDB have given rise to further questions instead of answers.
The five questions Lim outlined of what he described as ' ponteng ' (playing truant) are as follow:
1) What good reason did Arul and Sharom had for playing truant even though they had been given a two-week notice for the PAC hearing?
2) Why did they only inform of their absence four days before the PAC hearing if they knew that it would clash with their important overseas appointments?
3) What are the important overseas appointment that Arul and Sharom have that they cannot reschedule them and give priority to the PAC hearing?
4) Did Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak or relevant Finance Ministry authority instruct the duo to reschedule their overseas trip for the PAC which is important to put to rest doubts over 1MDB?
5) Did Najib, if not who, approve their absence?
Put to rest all doubts and queries
Lim pointed out that their decision not to urgently address the PAC comes amid the backdrop of Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin demanding the sacking of 1MDB's board of directors in a closed-door Umno meeting and claims of criminal wrongdoing against Najib by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
"With such a background, 1MDB should be chasing the PAC for an early hearing to prove that it is the very model of corporate good governance instead of playing truant from a scheduled PAC hearing which it had notice of more than a fortnight.
"One would have thought that Najib, and in particular, the 1MDB board, would have welcomed the PAC scheduled hearing today to put to rest all doubts and queries about integrity, transparency and good corporate governance," said Lim.
Lim added that all eyes will now be on the cabinet meeting on Friday on whether the ministers will accept collective responsibility and demand answers or heed Muhyiddin's private calls to sack the 1MDB board.
"Regardless of whether the cabinet is prepared to accept collective responsibility for the 1MDB scandal, the Malaysian taxpayers are entitled to an instant answer to these questions.
"As the finance ministry has written to the PAC giving blessings to the two 1MDB executives playing truant from the PAC scheduled hearing today, the finance minister who is the prime minister, or the Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, has to answer the above-mentioned questions," said Lim.
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