KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 7): 1MDB's chief executive officer Arul Kanda Kandasamy briefed the PAS central committee on the company's debt rationalisation plan today.

Arul Kanda was one of the guests at PAS' roundtable discussion on 1MDB held at a hotel in Ampang, Malaysiakini reported.

The closed-door discussion was initiated by PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

It was said to be the first time an executive from 1MDB had briefed opposition politicians in a formal setting other than at the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The other members of the panel included former Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, Wan Ahmad Fauzi from 1MDB’s precursor the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), and three academics — Mohd Fuad Mohd Salleh (Unisel), Mohd Shukri Mohd Noor (UKM) and Mohd Azhar Abdul Karim (UPM).

Malaysiakini reported that Tuan Ibrahim later said PAS was satisfied with Arul Kanda's explanation but hoped that 1MDB-related assets would be subjected to parliamentary scrutiny.

"For us, the rationalisation plan done by 1MDB is on the right track so far, and we hope there won't be much political interference in the plan he presented.

"As a whole, the discussion was very interesting and open. He (Arul Kanda) also presented several documents, in particular, the PAC’s findings," he told Malaysiakini.

Tuan Ibrahim said the discussion involved about 30 people and lasted about 3½ hours.