(June 10): There is no issue of political influence after questions was raised over the prime minister's son role with Deloitte, the current auditor for debt-laden 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said Nizar Najib, who is Datuk Seri Najib Razak's son, was attached with the international auditor's financial services section.

Deloitte, who has been summoned by the PAC as part of its ongoing probe into 1MDB, also said Nizar has been working with the firm since 2004.

"He is not with the audit section but is attached with the financial services section. He is not involved in 1MDB audit. There is no political interference," Nur Jazlan said after the PAC meeting in Parliament today.

Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli had previously questioned Nizar's role in Deloitte, saying it could lead to possible conflict of interest.

“Deloitte should have been more careful, the issue of conflict of interest arises, or at the very least a perception of conflict of interest.

“They would have known who Nizar is. How did they agree to handle 1MDB's accounts?” he was quoted as saying by news portal Malay Mail Online last month.

Deloitte is 1MDB's third auditor since it was set up in 2009 to spearhead development in strategic sectors. 1MDB's main business is property development and utilities, such as power and water plants.

Nur Jazlan said PAC will summon Deloitte’s predecessor KPMG next week as it audited 1MDB's 2011 and 2012 accounts.

The bipartisan committee will next summon 1MDB's president Arul Kanda Kandasamy and its former CEO Datuk Shahrul Azral Ibrahim Halmi in August. – The Malaysian Insider