KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 – Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal said that the debate on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) between DAP’s Petaling Jaya Utara federal lawmaker Tony Pua and 1MDB president Arul Kanda Kandasamy should be allowed to proceed without any conditions.
The former minister who was axed from the Cabinet last July over his criticism of the troubled firm said the debate should be allowed due to it was in view of public interest. He said they need this debate because there is a huge possibility we can get information while he feel it’s not appropriate to set conditions, there should not be any conditions for any parties.
“Just because he is a PAC member, we should not put any conditions on him. What’s important is for the public at large to be able to hear the truth, so I think it’s not wise for us to impose the conditions on the debate,” said Shafie in reference to Pua at the Parliament lobby here today.
Earlier this morning, speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia ruled that Pua needed to quit PAC if he wanted to proceed with the debate with Arul Kanda as participating in the debate would make the DAP Petaling Jaya Utara MP a “prosecutor”, not “investigator”, and thus, eroded PAC’s credibility.
Citing Pandikar’s ruling, PAC chairman Datuk Hasan Arifin had issued a gag order against Pua, saying that the staunch critic of the state investment firm can no longer talk or make any statements about 1MDB. Meanwhile, Shafie also said no one should be unduly worried about the debate if it was aimed at unearthing the truth. The Semporna federal lawmaker said if the investigation is related to the truth, then what’s the problem? They should not be worried if they are looking for the truth.
