KUALA LUMPUR: Separating the role of attorney general (AG) and that of public prosecutor (PP) will take time despite calls to expedite the process following the court decision involving Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, says the Prime Minister.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, however, reiterated his administration’s commitment to seeing through this key reform to strengthen rule of law and increase public confidence in the independence of the country’s legal institution.
Currently, the proposal has only been agreed to at the Cabinet stage while other steps must be completed before an actual Bill to establish a PP’s office will be ready.
“After the first few Cabinet meetings, we made that decision. Last month, there was a paper presented to make sure that this was agreeable to the Cabinet,” Anwar told reporters after Friday prayers at Masjid Jamek Sri Petaling yesterday.
“It will strengthen the role of the AG and the Solicitor General but it is an ongoing process. We have not yet referred it to the select committee,” he said in reference to the parliamentary committee that is also overseeing the initiative.
“It will also cost a lot of money. But if it has to be done, it will be done.
“We have already decided to do it but it can’t be bulldozed within a few weeks. We also need a two-thirds majority in Parliament,” Anwar said.
Calls to speed up the separation of the AG and PP have intensified following the High Court’s decision to discharge but not acquit Ahmad Zahid on 47 counts of misusing funds from Yayasan Akalbudi.
The decision was driven by the AG’s Chambers (AGC) application to withdraw the charges against the deputy prime minister although a prima facie case had been established.
Detractors of the Unity Government have accused Anwar of being involved in the AGC’s decision because currently, the body sits under the Prime Minister’s Department.
Anwar has repeatedly denied such assertions, saying that former attorney general Tan Sri Idrus Harun had decided to apply for the withdrawal of the charges before he retired on Sept 5.
Experts have pointed to how under the current set up, any administration will always be open to accusations of selective prosecution whenever its political rivals are hauled to court.
They said separating the AG and creating a new PP’s office that is independent of the elected administration would ensure that criminal cases are free from political interference.
Last month, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the process would take about one year and that 19 laws, including the Federal Constitution, would need to be amended.
