AFTER PUBLIC FIRING, 1MDB bosses agree to attend PAC probe but at a later date

1Malaysia Development Berhad’s (1MDB) top bosses have denied they are skipping a meeting with a parliamentary probe on the troubled company, saying that they “look forward” to telling their side of the story.

1MDB group executive director and CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy said he and 1MDB board of directors member Datuk Shahrol Halmi will appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which is investigating the company.

“As confirmed by the PAC chairman, the date for this appearance is currently being finalised, due to a date proposed earlier being in conflict with previously scheduled overseas commitments.

“Both, Arul Kanda and Datuk Shahrol Halmi, look forward to appearing before the committee and having the opportunity to clarify 1MDB's position," Arul Kanda said in a brief statement here.

Today, PAC chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said that both had requested to postpone their attendance at the committee’s hearing tomorrow.

Arul Kanda

Shahrol was 1MDB's first CEO from February 2009 to March 2013, while Arul Kanda was appointed in January this year.

Both are key witnesses in the PAC's inquiry on Finance Ministry-owned 1MDB, which has incurred RM42 billion in debts in just six years of operation.

The parliamentary bipartisan committee began its own hearings on the matter last Tuesday, after deciding not to wait for an independent probe by the auditor-general to be completed. - TMI