(Nov 3): Staunch 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) critic Tony Pua can no longer talk or make any statements about the troubled firm, said Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Hasan Arifin.

He said this was based on his interpretation of speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia’s ruling earlier today that DAP’s Petaling Jaya Utara federal lawmaker must quit the bipartisan panel if he wanted to participate in the proposed debate with 1MDB president Arul Kanda Kandasamy.

“We have heard the ruling from the speaker this morning and as PAC chief, I adhere to it. This means Pua cannot talk about 1MDB outside,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

"As a Member of Parliament, he should adhere to this.”

Earlier this morning, speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia ruled that Pua needed to quit PAC if he wanted to proceed with the debate with Arul Kanda as participating in the debate would make the DAP Petaling Jaya Utara MP a “prosecutor”, not “investigator”, and thus, eroded PAC’s credibility.

This prompted Pua's colleague, DAP's Seremban lawmaker Anthony Loke, to say that another lawmaker would be appointed to face off with Arul Kanda.

However, Hasan remained unsure over Pandikar's ruling that Arul Kanda should also abstain from talking about 1MDB, being the star witness in the 1MDB probe by PAC, if the debate were to go ahead with another DAP lawmaker.

"I am not sure about Arul, I have to get more details from the speaker's office." – The Malaysian Insider