Human rights group Proham today said that allegations
of criminal breach of trust surrounding state-owned fund 1MDB is not the sole
responsibility of its former chief executive officer.
Responding to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC)
report on 1MDB, Proham expressed shock over the disclosure of weak governance
structure and monitoring instituted for such huge sums of public funds.
“We express deep concern over the failure of the board
of directors, the advisory council and the Finance Ministry to institute
adequate checks and balances.
“We are not in agreement that the criminal breach of
trust lies solely on the CEO of 1MDB and therefore the speedy release of the
auditor-general’s report is imperative,” said Proham chairperson Kuthubul Zaman
Bukhari and secretary-general Denison Jayasooria in a statement.
Proham noted that a delay in releasing the report has
negatively impacted public perception on the full disclosure and transparency of
the investigations.
The 106-page report, among others, had identified a
number of weaknesses in the governance and decision-making of 1MDB.
The PAC report released in the Dewan Rakyat on April 7
had, among others, urged authorities to probe 1MDB former chief executive
officer Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi and others in the management.
“Particularly, PAC was of the view that 1MDB ex-CEO
Shahrol should take the responsibility for the weaknesses and constraints.
“As such, the enforcement agency was urged to probe
Shahrol and other management,” said the PAC’s report on 1MDB.
Shahrol Azral, however, had stressed that there was no
wrongdoing or illegal activity at the company under his watch.
He also pledged to continue extending his full
cooperation with any further investigation, after having appeared before the
members of the PAC and giving them a full and honest account of his time as CEO
of 1MDB.
‘Institutional reforms necessary’
Commenting further, Proham said adequate
constitutional safeguards are necessary to prevent any further abuse by the
executive.
It urges institutional reforms to be implemented to
ensure all responsible for “neglect of their public duty” can be prosecuted.
“There is a need for further public discussion on
whether government should be involved in business and financial investments as
well as what effective monitoring mechanisms are necessary to prevent abuse of
power.
“Furthermore there is also a need for a public
discussion on whether the same person should hold the office of the prime minister
and office of the finance minister,” said Proham.
Having the same person in the two office is an
“uncommon practice” in parliamentary democracies as the roles are distinctive
and public officials are accountable to the public for their decisions, Proham
added.
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, as well as other
Barisan Nasional ministers and leaders, had described findings of the PAC
report as proof of “false allegations” made by their critics in an attempt to
topple the government.
Read more: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/337256#ixzz45R6dnUht
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