The long awaited audit report on troubled 1MDB is not for public scrutiny, after it was classified as state secret. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, March 4, 2016.Social media users have criticised the decision to classify the auditor-general's final report on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) as official secret, with many asking if it meant the government had something to hide.
On Facebook, Danny Yong said keeping the report secret made things sound "fishy".
"Considering the fact that this organisation has caused so much concerns both locally and internationally, the authorities' attempt to keep the report under wraps sounds fishy, doesn't it?
"If there is nothing to hide, then why go under OSA?" he asked.
Echoing him, Jacky Toh wrote: "Everything to hide. What we can't see is more telling than what we can see."
Mokhtaruddin Ghani asked why the government bothered to have the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which has been holding an enquiry into the debt-ridden state investment firm.
"Kalau nak rahsia, tak payah auditlah. Buat apa tubuh pac?" (If they want to keep secrets, there is no need to audit. Why set up the PAC?)
Sebli Sulaiman said if all were well in the report, it would have been announced to the public.
"If the audit report does not show any misappropriation, surely it would be announced to the public. What does this mean? Maybe what Sarawak Report and The Wall Street Journal had reported were true."
Whistleblower site Sarawak Report had been publishing reports on the 1MDB scandal, prompting authorities to block access to the site.
WSJ too had been reporting on the controversy linked to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
On Twitter, Sarawak Report said it was not surprised by the decision to classify the audit report.
"Confirmed: #1MDB report to PAC classified under Official Secrets Act. Wasn't long before OSA was going to be abused."
It was reported earlier today that the final audit report on 1MDB was submitted by the auditor-general to the National Security Council for classification under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972.
PAC chairman, Datuk Hasan Arifin, later said the auditor-general classified the report under OSA in light of information leaks on its interim report submitted last July.
Meanwhile, on Twitter, esKahn (@eskahn) posted a sarcastic remark following the news: "A-G’s final report on 1MDB classified under OSA ... because dear Msians (Malaysians), #GomenKnowsBest."
The Twitter user also posted a GIF image of Jack Nicholson delivering the famous "You can't handle the truth!" quote from the 1992 film, "A Few Good Men".
Zuriah Mohd Said, commenting on Facebook, said: "Put it through the shredder lah. Waste of time, wayang (just an act) only."
MikeyMouse (@mikeyvoon) tweeted: "Longest of delay after delays tadaa, 1MDB report to PAC is now classified under OSA. No integrity whatsoever."
Shamini Flint in a reply to a news link posted by Lawyers for Liberty on the matter, wrote: "How can an investigative report be classified?"
Facebook user Tony Lee said that the OSA classification was a joke.
"This must be a joke. Rakyat is affected and they have the right to know the truth. Why classify fund mismanagement material under OSA? What security threat when our fund is missing?"
The audit report was finally tabled to PAC at Parliament this morning.
However, DAP lawmaker and PAC member Tony Pua said members were not allowed to bring the report home. – March 4, 2016.
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