KUALA LUMPUR: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) lost three more members following the government’s decision to retain Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee as its chairman.
Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob today announced that Datuk Dr Noraini Ahmad, Datuk Seri Ahmad Hamzah and Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan would quit the PAC in protest of the decision.
Noraini, the Parit Sulong MP, and Ahmad, the Jasin MP, are from Umno while Takiyuddin, the Kota Baru MP, is from PAS.
This came just three days after government backbencher Nurul Izzah Anwar also quit the PAC for the same reason.
When tendering her resignation, Nurul said the post of PAC chairman should remain with the opposition to ensure accountability.
In its election manifesto, Pakatan Harapan (PH) had pledged to keep the PAC chairman’s post for the opposition.
Kiandee was an Umno member when he was appointed to chair the panel but he quit the party to join Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia on March 14.
Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Nga Kor Ming said today Kiandee would remain PAC chairman until all pending cases have been dealt with.
This is to ensure that ongoing proceedings currently overseen by Kiandee are not disrupted.
“There still are many cases being heard now. A new chairman will be appointed at the appropriate time,“ he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad last week said Kiandee would stay on as chairman until a suitable replacement was found.
He claimed that it was not against the PH manifesto because Kiandee the Belarun MP was with the opposition when he was appointed.
Ismail, who is also acting Umno deputy president, said Barisan Nasional had proposed to the Speaker that Noraini be appointed the new chief but “there has been no response until Mahathir announced that Kiandee would keep the post”.
Ismail noted that both the chairman and deputy chairman will now be from PH.
“They now have complete control of the PAC when what we need is to have the opposition to ensure checks and balance,“ he said.
“We will not sit in the committee until the government offers the position of chairman to the opposition,“ he added.
Sabri described the decision to retain Kiandee, at least for now, as an abuse of the promise PH made in their election manifesto.
“Although we know that they have broken many other promises, we had hoped that they would at least give the position of PAC chairman to us as part of a parliamentary reform agenda,“ he said.
When Nurul quit on Friday, she insisted that the chairman’s position should be filled by a member of the opposition to ensure accountability.
Subang MP Wong Chen, also a PAC member, said they had written to Mahathir to record their dissent about Kiandee remaining in the position.
With the exit of Nurul and the three opposition members, the PAC is now left with 10 members.
