Constitutional amendment to be tabled again after refinements
The Bill to amend the Federal Constitution to separate the powers of the Attorney General and the Public Prosecutor will be presented to the Conference of Rulers before it is tabled again in Parliament, says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said (pic).
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) said this is to ensure the reform is done accordingly, in line with constitutional practice.
“The government intends to present it to the Conference of Rulers regarding the further proposed amendments.
“This step is being taken as a mark of respect for the institution of the constitutional monarchy and to ensure that this constitutional reform process is carried out in an orderly and responsible manner, in accordance with the country’s constitutional practices,” she said.
After that, she said, the Constitution (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2026 would be tabled for its second and third readings at the next Dewan Rakyat meeting.
Earlier, Azalina tabled the Parliamentary Special Select Committee’s (PSSC) report on the refined amendments to the proposed legislation.
She then invoked Standing Order 62 to defer the Bill for its readings until the next meeting of the Dewan Rakyat.
Addressing the House, Azalina said several MPs and stakeholders had raised concerns over the proposed reform.
Among the issues raised was Parliament’s limited role in the appointment of the Public Prosecutor, whereby the House would only be informed of the proposed candidate.
To address this, she said a further amendment to Clause (18) of proposed Article 145A would be introduced to strengthen Parliament’s role in the appointment process.
“This amendment is the result of views submitted by MPs from both sides of the House, legal experts, professional bodies and civil society organisations, and has been approved by the Cabinet,” she said.
Under the proposed amendment, the name of the candidate for Public Prosecutor must first be submitted to the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat for tabling before the House, she added.
“The candidate will then be scrutinised by a Dewan Rakyat Select Committee before the Dewan Rakyat makes a recommendation to the Judicial and Legal Service Commission.
“Based on this recommendation, the Judicial and Legal Service Commission shall advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong only on the candidate recommended by the Dewan Rakyat,” she said.
Azalina said the further refinements reflected the government’s openness to accepting suggestions in advancing institutional reforms.
The Bill was first tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on Feb 23.
However, it was referred to the bipartisan Parliamentary Special Select Committee on March 3 after its second reading for further refinement following concerns raised by MPs from both sides of the House and civil society.
As the Bill involves amendments to the Federal Constitution, it requires a two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat to be passed.
