Nothing to hide anymore, TI-M tells Putrajaya

Transparency International Malaysia calls for release of Auditor-General’s Report on 1MDB saying it is best way to avoid further ‘leaks’.

(FMT) – There is no reason for Putrajaya to keep the Attorney-General’s Report on 1MDB a secret anymore, says Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M).

Stating that the audit report came about following Prime Minister Najib Razak’s own instruction to the Auditor-General to audit 1MDB, TI-M said there was no reason for it to be under the Officials Secrets Act any longer.

“Declassifying the report would also enable the government of the day to prove to the public at large that it is transparent, accountable and there is nothing to hide or cover up from the public’s knowledge,” TI-M President Akhbar Satar said in a statement released today.

Following Sarawak Report’s recent publication of contents allegedly from the A-G’s Report on 1MDB, TI-M believes now is the best time to declassify the report as this will stop any more similar allegations coming out on the whistleblower site.

“The declassification will avoid Sarawak Report (SR) from further publishing contents which it claimed to be from the A-G’s Report on 1MDB even though the report is still classified under the Official Secrets Act 1972 and the authenticity of the statements in the report published in SR has not been challenged by the government,” he said.

He also warned of the negative perception that can arise by delaying the release of the report.

“The delay in declassifying the report allows the public to unnecessarily form its opinion assumptions on what could have happened in 1MDB including issues of the financial management of the company, dubious transactions and corrupt practices which ultimately may not be true.

“Is there something inside the report the government wants to hide from the public? If so, it can be considered an abuse of the OSA,” he said.

The report was submitted to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) but has not been tabled in Parliament since it is a classified document and will be violating the Official Secrets Act 1972(OSA).

Akhbar said TI-M holds strongly to the view that the public has a right to know how the money was managed by the 1MDB Board of Directors and senior management because 1MDB is owned by the government and funded by taxpayers.

TI-M also repeated its call for a forensic audit to be undertaken on 1MDB’s accounts and transactions.

“A forensic audit can unearth more details and disclose whether any fraud or wrongdoing has taken place which the A-G’s report might not have covered or discovered since the auditor’s report would not be as detailed as a forensic audit.

“If the findings from the forensic audit disclose there are elements of fraud and wrongdoing by 1MDB’s management it can be used to conduct criminal investigation against the suspects,” Akhbar said.

With the government repeatedly denying any wrongdoing on the part of 1MDB, Akhbar said, the audit report will reveal some of the truth, “so why the hesitation and indeed the refusal to ‘let the truth be told’?”