SUNGAI PETANI: The separation of powers between the Attorney General and the Public Prosecutor is still being studied, with no finalised timeline for implementation, says Datuk Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh.
The Attorney General mentioned that the committee involved in the process had visited several countries to conduct an empirical study on the separation of the roles of the departments.
"A team from the Attorney General's Chambers is also in the committee and they are conducting studies and have visited several countries... the timeframe (for implementation) is uncertain," he said.
He was speaking to reporters after inaugurating the Santuni Madani Programme of the Attorney General's Department at Paya Nahu People's Housing Programme (PPR) here on Monday (Sept 2).
In October last year, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Legal and Institutional Reform), Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, was reported to have said that the agenda of separating the roles of the Attorney General and the Public Prosecutor would be implemented in phases after the government takes into account the complexity and challenges of its implementation.
Azalina had told Dewan Rakyat that in the first phase, a Special Task Force on Comparative Studies was conducting a study on several countries to examine and formulate the most appropriate model in the Malaysian context.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Terrirudin said the Santuni Madani Programme implemented on Monday is a vehicle for community unification through collaboration programmes with various government agencies at the district level and the Paya Nahu PPR Residents' Association.
"This programme is the brainchild of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who wants all department heads or director-generals to return to their respective villages to contribute and strengthen friendships.
"Various activities are provided including a Legal Aid Clinic by the Legal Aid Department, health checks, briefings by the Prisons Department, the Royal Malaysian Police, the Information Department, SWCorp, and the Attorney General's Chambers," he said.
He noted that the one-day programme from 9am to 3pm aims to improve the village's potential and community capacity through direct monitoring and discussion to identify socio-economic problems and the needs of local residents. – Bernama
