KLANG: Any decisions by the Special Select Committee set up to study the constitutional amendment Bill separating the attorney general and public prosecutor roles will be done collectively, says the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister's Department.
It added that the committee’s scrutiny of the proposed constitutional amendment is in line with the checks and balances of a parliamentary democratic system.
In a statement on Thursday (March 5), it said the committee's members are MPs William Leong (PH-Selayang), RSN Rayer (PH-Jelutong), Khoo Poay Tiong (PH-Kota Melaka), Datuk Che Mohamad Zulkifly Jusoh (PN-Besut) and Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim (PN-Arau), as well as Special Select Committee on Law Review chairman Senator Rita Sarimah Patrick Insol.
"In addition, the Attorney General's Chambers, together with the Legal Affairs Division, have presented this institutional reform agenda to the Special Select Committee on Human Rights, Elections and Institutional Reform on Feb 26 and to the Special Select Committee on Law Review on March 2," it read.
The statement was issued following concerns by certain quarters that the committee will be chaired by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
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It said the committee would also study the accountability mechanism of the public prosecutor before submitting its recommendation to the Dewan Rakyat.
The statement pointed out that other ministers had chaired special select committees in the past and so Azalina’s role was not unprecedented.
It cited as examples former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad chairing the review of amendments made to the Penal Code and Criminal Procedure code in 2004; former law minister Tun Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar heading the review of the anti-party hopping bill in 2022; and former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s role in the referral of the Control of Tobacco Product and Smoking Bill to a select committee, also in 2022.
The statement said the referral reflects the Madani Government's intention to ensure that the proposed institutional reforms are scrutinised in-depth, inclusively and based on principles of the rule of law.
"Through this mechanism, various stakeholders including MPs, legal experts, academics and civil society are also expected to be invited to provide views to strengthen the Bill," it added.
The motion for the proposed constitutional amendment to be studied by a Special Select Committee was given the nod by the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (March 3).
