(June 12): Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia has shot down calls for Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) proceedings to be televised live on grounds that it goes against parliamentary procedures and protection for those who testify before the bi-partisan panel.

He said under Standing Orders 85, any committee, including PAC, is not allowed to publicly broadcast its discussions as long as the report has not been completed and tabled in Parliament.

He said the current rules are also in place to protect individuals who testify before PAC, as they do not have parliamentary immunity enjoyed by parliamentarians and senators.

"Moreover, the right to know the testimonies given in committee meetings are in Parliament's meetings through the tabling of reports by the respective committees," he was quoted on the website of Barisan National Backbenchers Club, BNBBC.my.

Pandikar added that as long as the Standing Orders were enforced and unchanged, live telecasts of proceedings by Parliament's numerous committees could not be allowed.

Yesterday, DAP lawmakers, Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng and Ipoh Timur MP Thomas Su, urged for PAC's hearing on the controversial 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) to be telecast live.

The duo said they had sent a letter to PAC chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed last week on the matter.

Former deputy minister, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah had also made a similar call, asking for PAC proceedings on 1MDB to be telecast live.

In reply, Nur Jazlan told reporters yesterday that PAC did not object to its proceedings on 1MDB being televised live but cautioned that it was up to the speaker or Cabinet.

"I have no objection for PAC hearings to be televised live. Most of the PAC members also held similar views.

"But the issue here is who can decide on this. Is it the speaker or the Cabinet?" he had asked after chairing a PAC meeting in Parliament yesterday.

Criticism has been mounting over 1MDB, the Finance Ministry-owned investment vehicle which has chalked up debts of up to RM42 billion.

Scrutiny has grown more intense following whistleblower site Sarawak Report's recent exposes, which piled pressure on prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and prompted opposition politicians, former and current Umno leaders including long-serving former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and anti-graft bodies, to demand a thorough investigation into the fund.

The Auditor-General is currently looking through 1MDB's books, with a preliminary report expected to be submitted to the Parliament in June, while PAC had started its investigation into the company last month. – The Malaysian Insider