(Oct 19): With a new chairman of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in place, DAP's Lim Guan Eng today challenged the bipartisan panel to unearth the scandals surrounding 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The Bagan MP said the statement earlier this month by the Malay rulers expressing concerns over the state-owned investment vehicle should be heeded.

"Now is the time for PAC to ensure the decree from the rulers can be implemented.

"Are they brave enough to do it, unearth the 1MDB scandal and find who are the irresponsible, guilty parties?

"Are they brave enough to take action against them? This is the main issue," he said when debating on the motion to appoint Barisan Nasional's Rompin MP Datuk Hasan Arifin to the post.

“If you are brave enough to find out who’s involved, even if it is Jho Low or someone higher up, is PAC brave enough to take action against them?” he asked in reference to businessman Low Taek Jho who had been linked to the debt-laden firm despite the latter’s repeated denials.

On Oct 6, the Malay rulers asked Putrajaya to complete the investigation related to 1MDB as soon as possible and take “the appropriate stern action” against all implicated.

Lim had expressed concerns over the current sluggish economy which saw the ringgit plunging beyond RM4 against the US dollar, adding that the 1MDB scandal was one of the factors.

“There are various ways to save the country and one of it is for PAC to discharge its duties effectively, if not it is akin to a breaching the trust given by people.

“There must not be any effort to cover up the scandal.”

The DAP secretary-general proposed that the PAC proceedings be open to the public and hearing could be heard privately on matters involving national security or sensitive information.

He also suggested that the Auditor-General and the Audit Department be empowered so that they could act action against any government agency found guilty for graft, leakages and wastage. – The Malaysian Insider