KUALA LUMPUR (May 25): The Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC), which is in the midst of an inquiry into debt-ridden state-owned 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), has postphoned Tuesday's proceedings after it was confirmed that two top management witnesses from the company, namely president cum group executive director Arul Kanda Kandasamy and his predecessor Datuk Shahrul, would be absent.

PAC chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed told reporters today that the Ministry of Finance (MoF), via a letter to the committee last Friday, informed PAC that both Arul Kanda and Shahrol will not able to attend the 1MDB proceeding that has been fixed for tomorrow as they had matters to attend overseas on the following day.

In the letter, Nur Jazlan said the duo in the letter had also requested for a 30-day extension as they needed time to make the neccesary preparations.

"In our plan, [calling up] the board [of 1MDB] is number four on our list. Firstly the MoF, the CEO, the auditors and then the board. Because once we [have] compiled statements and testimonies from the first three, then only we can ask the board their responsibility in the whole process.

"We have to be fair to them... We will set the date and we will fix a later date (after 30-day period) when we will call them...but it does not stop us from calling the next [in our list], the auditors of 1MDB, which is Deloitte," Nur Jazlan said, adding that letters will be sent out to Deloitte and the other two auditing firms who were engaged by 1MDB, KPMG and Ernst & Young, over the next few days.

Deloitte is expected to appear before PAC in two weeks' time, he added.

When asked if the reasons given by the duo warrants a postponement of the proceedings of such a high-profile probe, Jazlan said he had accepted their reasons for not attending in good faith.

He was also confident that the duo will attend the committee's proceedings as requested in the future.

Arul Kanda and Shahrul, who served the company from March 2009 until March 2013, were expected to appear before the PAC tomorrow morning. Shahrol, who is now attached with the Performance Management Delivery Unit (Pemandu), is still one of the board of directors of 1MDB. Arul took over from chief executive officer Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman in January.

The PAC started its probe into 1MDB last Tuesday (May 19) when it summoned Economic Planning Unit (EPU) director-general Datuk Seri Dr Rahmat Bivi Abdulla and Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah; the latter is also on the company's advisory board.

The Finance ministry representative was summoned because 1MDB is a wholly-owned vehicle of  the Ministry of Finance Inc, while EPU coordinates the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) and Bandar Malaysia developments.

Both agencies also monitor the firm's governance. Both individuals will also return next month to give more information to the committee.

The PAC will also call 1MDB board of directors, including its chairman Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, as well as the company's past and present auditors, soon.