Is it the Prime Minister’s idea to direct the Auditor-General to audit the 1MDB accounts accompanied by a secret directive to the AG not to make the interim report public?

Is it the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s idea to direct the Auditor-General to audit the debt-laden 1MDB accounts, accompanied by a secret directive to the Auditor-General not to make the report public?

Such an arrangement defeats the very purpose and principles of an open, accountable and transparent governance which have “Nothing2Hide” as far the controversial 1MDB’s affairs are concerned as well as destroys the original rationale of asking the Auditor-General to vet 1MDB’s finances to demonstrate that the Prime Minister and his Government are prepared to withstand the most intense scrutiny.

Earlier Auditor General, Tan Sri Ambrin Buang has said that the interim report of the audit of the 1MDB would be ready in June.

This is 1st July and the interim report of the Auditor-General on the 1MDB is still being awaited.

The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee Chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamad has said that the Auditor-General’s interim report on the 1MDB would not be made public, but only to be distributed to the PAC members.

This is unsatisfactory and unacceptable.

Although this is only the Auditor-General’s interim report on the 1MDB, and that there will be a final report, there is no good enough reason why the interim report should be withheld from the public or MPs who are not on the PAC.

Again, this is a slap in the face of Najib’s “Nothing2Hide” slogan which had been trotted out in connection with the 1MDB controversy, and I ask the Prime Minister to demonstrate that the catchphrase of “Nothing2Hide” is not an empty slogan, but a guiding principle of his administration, particularly on the 1MDB controversy.

If Najib is not prepared to ensure that the Auditor-General’s interim report on the 1MDB is immediately made available to the public, he can junk all the slogans about “Nothing2Hide” henceforth, and be ready to face a new phase of his premiership as a “Everything2Hide” Prime Minister.