He said the ministry conducted a bankruptcy search at the Malaysian Insolvency Department on Aug 3 and the results confirmed that Gobi Krishnan had been declared bankrupt from Jan 7, 2021.

“Based on the legal review made by the ministry, it was found that despite being declared bankrupt, his appointment for the period from July 20, 2021 to Aug 3, 2022, was in order and did not violate any laws and regulations.

“The Excise Act 1976 (Act 176) does not say that a person who is bankrupt cannot be appointed as a member of the licensing board. The Act also does not say that the position automatically becomes vacant if a member of the licensing board becomes bankrupt,” he said in a statement today.

Shahidan said Gobi Krishnan had been appointed as a member of the DBKL licensing board effective July 20, 2021 to July 19, 2023, based on the delegation of authority made under Section 86 of Act 176, which was gazetted on July 24, 2014.