PETALING JAYA: There will be a study on the feasibility of separating the Public Prosecutor’s Office from the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC), says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said (pic).
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) announced this following a meeting between the Legal Affairs Department and the AGC’s solicitor-general Datuk Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh on Tuesday.
“Following this meeting, the AGC will come up with a paper on the refinements of the AG/PP (Attorney General/ Public Prosecutor) split.
“This is the first step in separating the powers between the AGC and Public Prosecutor and I hope the cooperation will bear fruit as soon as possible,” she posted on Twitter yesterday.
There have been calls from several quarters over the years for the separation of the powers of the two entities to ensure the PP’s independence with regard to prosecuting cases.
In September, Azalina’s predecessor Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the government was still mulling separating the powers of the two entities.
Although he acknowledged that this was the practice adopted in many other countries, Wan Junaidi said implementing it here would require amendments to the Federal Constitution as well as additional government expenditure.
Sunday Star published a commentary by International Islamic University Malaysia legal expert Prof Dr Abdul Ghafur Hamid calling on the recently installed unity government to separate the two entities.
At present, he said there was a fusion of the two powers under the Attorney General based on Article 145 of the Federal Constitution.
He said this could lead to allegations of political interference through selective prosecution, non-pursuance of existing charges and withdrawal of charges for those aligned with the government.
Dr Abdul Ghafur added that the PP should not be affiliated with any political party and that it should be free from any interference by the government of the day and independently make decisions without fear or favour.
His tenure should also be secured without depending on the change of government.
