SELCAT PRESENTS FINDINGS AT NEXT STATE ASSEMBLY

SHAH ALAM, April 1 (Bernama) -- The Special Select Committee on Competence, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) will present the findings of its public hearing on alleged misuse of funds in the Wives of Selangor Assemblymen and MPs Welfare and Charity Organisation (Balkis) at the next sitting of the Selangor State Assembly in July.

Selcat chairman Teng Chang Kim said the first ever inquiry conducted by a state legislative assembly in the country went on smoothly, except for two key witnesses who failed to turn up.

"Mohd Khir and his wife refused to turn up and explain to the people what happened to Balkis and PNSB (Permodalan Negeri Selangor Berhad) all these years,".

Teng said Dr Mohd Khir would be referred to the committee of privileges for failure to attend the hearing while Zaharah could be prosecuted under Section 5 of the Contempt of the House Act 2008.

"However, she can only be prosecuted with the consent of the Attorney-General," he said.

Teng also disclosed that during the inquiry, the Registrar of Societies (ROS) had refused to produce crucial documents which were accessible to the public and not deemed as official secrets.

"There is no reason for the ROS not to produce it, unless it is a false document," he added.

Earlier, PNSB chief executive officer Datin Khairiyah Abu Hassan, when testifying before the Selcat Committee, said PNSB spent about RM1.7 million for Dr Mohd Khir, his wife, children, their maid and the company's official to tour France, Morocco and the United States.

She said the trips included two study tours to Disneyland in Paris and Orlando.