Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla said RCI chairman Mohd Sidek Hassan had been eager to complete the investigation even though the law allowed him to apply for an extension.
“After all the rush, why has the cabinet put the report in cold storage when Sidek delivered the outcome of the inquiry to the king on Oct 13,” he asked.
On July 18, the government announced that Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V had given his consent for a RCI to be formed to investigate the losses suffered by BNM.
Petronas chairman Mohd Sidek Hassan was appointed to chair the five-member RCI.
Sidek, had earlier chaired the special task force investigating the BNM forex losses but later conceded that an RCI would be appropriate to conduct an in-depth investigation.
Haniff said the public was entitled to know the contents of the report as Prime Minister Najib Razak previously said his government was also interested in knowing the truth.
“Is the report going to be released just before the general election to allow the Barisan Nasional to use and abuse it to score political points?” he asked.
Other members of the commission were High Court judge Kamaludin Md Said, Bursa Malaysia chief executive officer Tajuddin Atan, Special Task Force to facilitate Business (Pemudah) co-chairman Saw Choo Boon and Malaysian Institute of Accountants member K Puspanathan.
The commission’s terms of reference were:
- To determine whether BNM’s foreign exchange dealings which incurred losses, had contravened the provisions of the Central Bank Ordinance 1958 or any other relevant laws;
- To determine whether there were elements of deliberate concealment of facts and information and misleading statements made to the cabinet, parliament and public regarding the losses incurred by BNM due to the foreign exchange dealings;
- To recommend appropriate action to be taken against parties involved directly and/or indirectly if found to have caused the losses incurred by BNM and concealed the fact and information regarding the said losses; and,
- To recommend a course of action to ensure similar events will not be repeated.
The RCI convened for eight days from Aug 21 and concluded on Sept 19 after calling 25 witnesses.
Forty-two documents were submitted during the proceedings.
Among the witnesses were former prime minister Mahathir, former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, former BNM governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, former BNM adviser Nor Mohamed Yakcop and former finance minister Daim Zainuddin.