1MDB boss and ex-CEO skip PAC meet

 Saphire: The 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) people are not taking the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) seriously. Apparently, there are too many holes to cover and as such delaying tactic is the easiest way out.

Logically, if 1MDB has nothing to hide, PM Najib Razak would volunteer to testify willingly as this is the golden opportunity for him to clear his name.

My bet is he, too, will play hide and seek with PAC should he be called up.

Patriot1: With a RM42 billion problem, 1MDB group executive director Arul Kanda Kandasamy should make himself available on 24-hour notice.

With the whole nation looking at 1MDB through a magnifying glass, this man says he’s not free. It is making a mockery of the system.

Anonymous #40538199: If the 1MDB business was carried out above the board and the CEOs were capable and hands on, there would be no need for time extension to meet up with PAC.

RCZ: Arul is certainly not a clown as one commentator here has stated.

Don’t forget that he was in the consortium of banks that gave the humongous unsecuritised loan to 1MDB and is now in 1MDB trying to repay the unsecuritised loan with the worthless security he accepted as one of the bankers.

He also said the assets were in cash in the Singapore bank. He also said tycoon Jho Low not involved in 1MDB. We always knew better because documents don’t lie. Talk about conflicts and lies.

Wg321: Arul, why run away? Instead of talking about “hard cash and assets in units” in Singapore, just tell the truth about everything that needs to be told to the PAC.

The problem is very simple. Why must you want to over-borrowed RM42 billion just to buy RM15 billion worth of soon-to-be-expired old power plants, Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) land and the old airport land in Sungai Besi?

Where did you invest or hide the balance of RM27 billion of hard cash?  Did you invest this money in some useless old desalination plants; or unsuitable coal mines in Mongolia and Sumatra?

Like what former Bersih coordinator S Ambiga said, “Just tell the truth.”

FellowMalaysian: Arul’s refusal to attend the PAC session is the first revelation that 1MDB’s financial health is indeed on shaky ground.

His reluctance even to make himself appear at the crucial meeting called by PAC has further jeopardised the already tainted reputation and credibility of Najib’s brainchild.

Lately Najib has personally expressed his confidence and support for 1MDB and he had even disputed the critics’ claims and strongly denied that the sovereign fund backed by the government is heading into the doldrums.

Arul, probably acted under instructions from the Finance Ministry, but his action will not be seen in good light in the public’s eyes.

In fact, based on Sun Tzu’s ‘The Three Kingdom’, Arul’s action is interpreted as a sign of weakness, which is equivalent to a withdrawal in warfare.

This indeed does not augment well for 1MDB and that includes the company’s chief advisor, Najib.

Anonymous #19098644: The Parliament is the highest institution of the land elected by the people of this country.

This lack of respect from mere hired servants of a government-owned institution can only mean that 1MDB is not just hiding but clearly intends to evade providing clear answers.

Not only should they be sacked, there should be a prohibitory order preventing them from leaving the country. Also Najib should be hauled up in front of the PAC.

If he refuses to answer or appear, he should be impeached. Let there be a confidence vote on Najib in Parliament.

Worried Sick: These two men (Arul and former chief executive officer Shahrol Halmi) must be really powerful to tell the PAC that they are not available. How would they have known that PAC is just a toothless tiger unless someone would have told them so?

PAC chief Nur Jazlan (if he had any gumption) should have them arrested and brought before his parliamentary committee as soon as possible.

He must not blow hot and cold and show the world that he is really just as impotent as all other enforcement agencies when it comes to 1MDB. The PM’s name must be cleared and the government cannot go on with this thorn is still in its flesh.

If the PAC chairman and his committee cannot handle the matter at hand, then it is only prudent the entire committee picks someone else to do the job at hand.

Onyourtoes: Why need more time? I though the hotshot bankers and Ivy League graduates have all the things under control.

Intelligence means nothing if you are on the wrong side. I guess your parents and universities have never taught you this before.

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