KUALA LUMPUR: A parliamentary special select committee (PSSC) examining the proposed separation of the Attorney General (AG) and Public Prosecutor (PP) roles will meet again next week after receiving legal feedback from the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC), said Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) said the AGC had been given two weeks to provide its legal response on the proposed reform.
"The committee comprises representatives from both the government and opposition.
"The AGC has been given two weeks, and once we receive its legal response next week, I will convene another PSSC meeting," she said during her winding-up speech on Budget 2027 in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (Oct 26).
Azalina said political parties could also engage with their respective representatives on the committee to seek further clarification on the legal issues involved.
Later, responding to Datuk Mohd Isam Mohd Isa (BN-Tampin), she said separating the two roles was necessary to address perceptions of interference in prosecution decisions.
Mohd Isam had questioned whether it was appropriate for an MP to ask the Prime Minister to direct the AG to prosecute certain individuals, arguing that such actions were inconsistent with the rule of law.
Azalina said the proposed separation was intended to prevent perceptions of hidden influence over prosecution decisions.
"This is precisely the perception we want to avoid. We do not want the impression that there are unseen hands behind such decisions," she said.
She also outlined a proposed appointment mechanism under which candidates for the PP position would be debated in Parliament before their names were submitted for consideration and eventual presentation to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
"We want the names to come through parliamentary deliberation. Whether names are added or removed, at least there will be a debate and everyone will know," she said.
Azalina stressed that the country's system of checks and balances depended on the separation of powers between the executive, legislature and judiciary.
She said anyone with evidence of improper interference should lodge a report, adding that the courts remained an avenue for seeking justice.
She also said greater parliamentary autonomy would strengthen oversight of executive decisions through parliamentary select committees and other mechanisms.
"Whether we like it or not, we must give credit to the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) for giving us the power to question executive decisions and legislation. That is what we want," she said.
