Deeper, ongoing look at separating AG’s powers

THE proposed amendments on the separation of powers between the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) as well as making the AG accountable to Parliament have not been finalised yet, says Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) said the matter needed to be carefully considered.

“In view of the fact that the proposed separation requires amendments to the Federal Constitution, the government has to be careful in the matter as it touches on the powers of the Public Prosecutor,” Wan Junaidi said in a written reply to a question by Datuk Johari Abdul (PH-Sungai Petani) in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

Among the amendments cited by Wan Junaidi were Articles 145 and 138 of the Constitution.

He said there were still uncertainties over the implementation at the moment.

“This includes whether there is a need to place the AG under the powers of Parliament and not the Prime Minister, which has yet to be finalised,” he said.

He said the AGC had carried out a study on the proposed amendments as part of the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) 2019-2023.

He added that the study took into account the best practices of nine countries, and also the structure and implementation of an independent public prosecutor’s office.

“The findings of the study have been finalised and related proposed constitutional amendments identified,” he said.

However, Wan Junaidi said that the government will have till 2023 to decide on the implementation of the NACP proposal.

“Once the study report is fully completed, it will be submitted to the government again to decide whether to implement the related agenda to separate the functions of the AG and public prosecutor,” he added.

There have been calls from several quarters including civil society for the AG’s powers to be separated and made accountable to Parliament.

In 2018, the then government pledged to separate the responsibilities of the AG from those of the public prosecutor.

A five-member institutional reform committee (IRC) chaired by retired judge, the late KC Vohrah, was then set up.

The government had said the AG would be appointed from among qualified MPs, and would be a minister acting as legal adviser to the government.

The public prosecutor, meanwhile, would be an individual free from political interests with autonomy to carry out prosecutions.