KUALA LUMPUR: Parliament will be given a formal role in scrutinising nominees for the post of Public Prosecutor through a new Parliamentary Special Select Committee under proposed reforms to separate the offices of the Attorney General and Public Prosecutor, says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) said the proposed committee, to be established under Standing Order 81(1), would examine candidates for the post and have the power to recommend or decline to recommend nominees.
Azalina said the Judicial Appointments Commission (SPKP) would first notify the Parliamentary Special Select Committee of shortlisted candidates for scrutiny before advising the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the appointment.
“Parliament would also be informed of the nominated candidate and be allowed to provide its views to the SPKP, which would take Parliament’s comments into account before submitting its advice directly to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong,” she said in a media briefing in Parliament on Thursday (June 25).
The committee’s assessment, however, would not be legally binding, with the final constitutional advice remaining with the SPKP, she said.
Azalina said Parliament’s involvement in the appointment process must not conflict with the Federal Constitution or the basic structure doctrine.
She added that the proposed committee could be modelled after the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Major Public Appointments, which operated in 2018 and 2019.
Azalina said a committee scrutinising the matter also proposed that any issues relating to the confidentiality of candidates be determined by the Parliamentary Special Select Committee in accordance with existing laws and parliamentary rules.
She said the proposed Public Prosecutor should serve a single non-renewable seven-year term and be subject to a written code of ethics issued by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the SPKP.
“The Public Prosecutor could also be removed not only on the grounds of inability or misconduct, but also for breaching the code of ethics,” she said.
To strengthen the independence of the office, Azalina said the committee proposed that, notwithstanding Article 40 of the Federal Constitution, the Prime Minister and Cabinet should have no role in advising the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the appointment, suspension or removal of the Public Prosecutor.
Aside from that, she said the Public Prosecutor will be required to submit an annual report on the administration, management and financial position of the office to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong before it is tabled in Parliament.
Azalina said an enabling provision should also be inserted into the Federal Constitution to allow Parliament to enact a separate federal law governing the appointment, dismissal, reporting requirements and related procedures for the Public Prosecutor, with the detailed framework to be set out in a new Act.
She added that while some proposals could be incorporated into the constitutional amendments first, others could subsequently be implemented through a separate federal law and amendments to the Dewan Rakyat Standing Orders.
“The proposed amendments will be further refined, with these recommendations forming the basis for implementing the separation of the Attorney General and Public Prosecutor roles,” she said.
