Tribunal chairman Mohd Sidek Hassan cited Section 21 (2) of the Commission of Inquiry Act 1950 to make the documents public.
That provision states that all evidence given before the inquiry enjoyed absolute privilege and witnesses were not liable for prosecution or face a lawsuit.
“No point of having an inquiry if we are governed by the OSA,” he said.
However, he ruled the two documents would only be supplied to the conducting officers.
The RCI was set up on July 1 amid claims and denials over then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s involvement in the scandal, which saw billions of ringgit worth of losses by the central bank.
Dr Mahathir’s lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla said the documents should be supplied as the tribunal had allowed counsel for affected parties to participate in the hearing.
Reporters covering the proceedings today were not able to get copies of the report.
Earlier, BNM lawyer Tan Hock Chuan said two witnesses would tender reports relating to the forex transaction between 1988 and 1994, but he expressed concern if they would run foul of the law.
“The RCI does not have the power to declassify,” he said.
Tan said the tribunal members enjoyed immunity from any action in conducting this RCI but not the witnesses.
In the alternative, Tan urged the RCI to make a ruling that the hearing or part of it was heard with the exclusion of the Press and public.
Conducting officer Suhaimi Ibrahim said he was not in the position to counter argue Tan’s submission if the reports fell under the OSA.
Earlier, lawyer Gurdial Singh Nijar, appearing for Anwar Ibrahim who was part of the Mahathir administration, made an application that his client be present during the entire proceedings to follow the evidence give by witnesses.
“As witnesses unfold, we need to get instruction from the client to assist in the inquiry,” he said.
Anwar, who served as finance minister between 1993 and 1998, is currently serving a five-year jail term after he was convicted of sodomy in 2015.
Gurdial said he was not out to obstruct the proceedings.
The RCI aims to:
- determine the authenticity of the allegation on the forex losses suffered by BNM in the 1990s and its implications on the national economy;
- determine whether BNM’s involvement in the forex activities which caused the losses contradicted with the Central Bank Ordinance 1958 or any relevant laws;
- determine whether there were elements of hidden facts and information relating to forex losses suffered by BNM and misleading statements given to the cabinet, parliament and the public;
- recommend suitable action to be taken against those found to be directly and/or indirectly involved in causing the losses and hiding the facts and information on the losses, and;
- recommend appropriate measures to ensure the incident will not recur.
Other members of the tribunal are co-chairman of the Special Task Force to Facilitate Business (Pemudah) Saw Choo Boon, High Court judge Kamaludin Md Said, Bursa Malaysia Bhd chief executive officer Tajuddin Atan and Malaysian Institute of Accountants member K Pushpanathan.