This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on April 8, 2016.

KUALA LUMPUR: Public Accounts Committee (PAC) member Tony Pua said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should be held accountable for the mishaps at 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), considering his position as the chairman of the advisory board.

Pua said Najib was aware of the ongoings of the state investment company, as the premier had signed off the documents.

“The only thing we have on the prime minister is the shareholders’ resolution, which is signed. As to whether he was involved or not, we don’t know. At the very least, he should have ministerial accountability to Parliament,” Pua, who is DAP national publicity secretary and member of parliament for Petaling Jaya Utara, told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

“Abolishing the advisory board was one of the recommendations, but that’s the least of the concerns. The main concern is on the management and board of directors. They need to be replaced.

“The prime minister knew the deals because he signed them off. One of the reasons Clause 117 was included is that it’s the key link to implicating the prime minister,” he added.

He was referring to Clause 117 of 1MDB’s memorandum and articles of association, which states that Najib’s written approval is required to pass any deals, including decisions on investments and restructuring, as well as the appointment of company directors and senior management members.

However, PAC deputy chairman Dr Tan Seng Giaw said based on the parliamentary committee’s investigations, the prime minister is not directly involved in the case.

“Through our investigations, we found that he was not directly involved. His name only showed up due to his position as chairman of the advisory board. Besides that, the focus was mostly on the management.

“1MDB’s executive officers would run the business and the people who monitor these things are the board of directors. Let’s look at the people who are directly involved and figure out what actually went wrong,” Tan said.