The auditor-general is constitutionally bound to submit to Parliament all reports on government-owned entities that it has audited - including 1MDB – and not just classify it as an official state secret, said lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdullah.

Haniff, who was appearing for former Umno member Zahid Md Arip, told the High Court in Kuala Lumpur today that Article 107(1) of the Federal Constitution makes it a requirement for audit reports to be submitted to Parliament.

Zahid, who is now a member of Bersatu’s supreme council, had filed a judicial review application to challenge the auditor-general’s classification of the 1MDB audit report under the Official Secrets Act 1972.

Under the Audit Act 29157, Haniff (photo) pointed out, companies in which the government is the majority shareholder, or those that are 100 percent owned by the government must be audited by the auditor-general.

He added this encompasses the audit report on 1MDB, which was requested by the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC)...