PAC deputy chairman Dr Tan Seng Giaw said following the failure of both 1MDB president and group executive director Arul Kanda and former CEO Shahrol Ibrahim Halmi to testify on May 26, PAC had sought the assistance of the finance ministry again.
“We urged the ministry which wholly owns 1MDB to advise the duo as to appear before the committee as soon as possible,” he told Malaysiakini today.
“The ministry has yet to come back to us with a new date (for when the duo will be available),” he said.
Arul and Shahrol had skipped their appointments with the PAC last week claiming the finance ministry had only notified them of the matter on May 21.
PAC then received a reply from Arul seeking a 30-day extension on May 22 on the grounds that he and Shahrol had prior commitments abroad and needed time to prepare the necessary documents for the PAC hearing.
If the delay is based on the need of Shahrol and Arul to prepare their documents, then it will be a permanent one.
Remember, Sarawak Report revealed at the beginning of the year that 1MDB officials had ordered that all computer records be wiped last December.
This was before the new CEO Arul Kanda took up his post – so he arrived at a company with no records!
And when Arul then faxed a statement of the subsidiary Brazen Sky’s supposed $1.013 billion cash account to BSI Bank in Singapore, presumably to check if the record he had been handed was correct, BSI responded that the statement was false!
So how can Arul trust his own company records, when the few he has access to turn out to be fraudulent?
Sarawak Report is surprised that Arul Kanda is still willing to stay in his job. We would be even more surprised if he is allowed to testify to the PAC!