PETALING JAYA: The proposed separation of powers between the Attorney General (AG) and the Public Prosecutor (PP) has emerged as the biggest test of the government’s reform agenda, with analysts split on whether Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim can push it through before the 16th General Election.
The Constitution (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2026, which seeks to split the two roles, had its first reading in the Dewan Rakyat in February and was referred to a parliamentary special select committee.
Its second reading, postponed in July for the amendments to be presented to the Conference of Rulers, is now expected to proceed in October.
Universiti Teknologi Mara lecturer Mujibu Abd Muis said the government is entering a narrow political window to deliver its institutional reforms.
He said the real question is no longer whether the reforms are wanted but whether Putrajaya still has the numbers and the discipline to see them through.
“The issue is no longer simply whether these reforms are desirable but whether the government still has sufficient political capital, parliamentary support and coalition discipline to pass them.
“The proposed separation of the Attorney General and Public Prosecutor is probably the most significant test. As it involves constitutional changes, the government needs a two-thirds majority, or 148 of 222 MPs,” he said.
Mujibu said a failed bid to impose a 10-year limit on the prime minister’s tenure was a warning that the government could not assume it had a reliable two-thirds majority, even with a comfortable simple majority.
However, he did not rule out reform, pointing to the government’s engagement with opposition MPs as a possible route to bipartisan support.
“The key question is whether the government can build consensus around the substance of the reforms, particularly issues such as the appointment, tenure, removal, independence and accountability of the Public Prosecutor.”
Mujibu also cautioned against rushing the reforms just because the general election is drawing near.
“Internal tensions within PKR and occasional friction between Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional also complicate the parliamentary arithmetic,” he said.
Taking a more upbeat view, geostrategist and Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research senior fellow Prof Dr Azmi Hassan said Anwar holds a comfortable two-term majority that is enough to pass any Bill, including those being pushed by DAP.
“This gives him time to reform, especially the separation between the AG and the Public Prosecutor, which is one of the Bills,” he said.
Azmi said Barisan Nasional is unlikely to use the reforms as leverage against the Prime Minister.
“Barisan won’t use this as leverage because it makes no sense for Barisan to go against this particular Bill.
“So I don’t think Barisan will use this to force Anwar to dissolve Parliament.”
He said there is ample time to pass the legislation.
“There is a lot of time. Anwar has at least 12 months to pass the Bill because, as we mentioned, the majority is there.”
The next Parliament session will take place from Oct 5 to Dec 8.
