Wong was recently quoted by Utusan Malaysia as saying the PAC had been “paralysed” by the emergency as it had been unable to meet.
Azhar denied the claim and said all national expenditure during the emergency period would be audited by Parliament and the PAC once the emergency ended.
Wong told FMT: “I would like to remind the speaker of his statement on Jan 12 where he said Parliament will not sit during the emergency, but assured the people that the PAC and Parliamentary select committees will continue to exercise their duty to act as a check and balance.
“But the Dewan Rakyat speaker’s latest response has proven that what I said to Utusan was right. Of course, I know that we can sit again after the emergency.
“My question is since there will be no sittings or proceedings from January to August, how are we to scrutinise government spending (now)? What are we to do for these seven or eight months if we cannot exercise the mandate given to us by Parliament?”
He said that among the two biggest issues the PAC should look into were the increase in the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme budget from RM3 billion to RM5 billion, and an amendment to a law allowing the government to tap into the National Trust Fund (KWAN) to meet Covid-19 vaccine expenses.
Noting that the government was spending “a lot of money” combating Covid-19, Wong said if Parliament could not sit, the PAC could and should play its role as a platform for check and balance.
“The PAC is ever ready to work, but we’re hindered by the emergency proclamation,” said the Ipoh Timur MP.
On Jan 12, Azhar said all parliamentary and state sittings would be suspended during the emergency. However, MPs would still need to carry out their responsibility towards the rakyat as the suspension did not mean that Parliament had been dissolved.
“Due to that, any caucus, all-party parliamentary groups and special committees that have been set up will continue. Except, if their activity is curbed by any ordinance, which can be amended by the King in accordance with the constitution,” he said.
Klang MP Charles Santiago said that technically speaking, Azhar was not wrong when he said the PAC would only be able to carry out its duties once the emergency ended.
“He (Azhar) came out trying to look nice with the statement, but it’s clear that once Parliament is suspended, all its activities must come to an end,” he told FMT.
“Given that Parliament is suspended, all oversight roles of all select committees don’t exist anymore.”
However, Santiago was quick to point out that with the emergency ordinance allowing the government to spend money and create new laws, the ongoing calls for checks and balances were only inevitable.
“The emergency has given the government a blank cheque to do what they want,” he said. “There is no accountability in that.”