All MPs should support this first-of-its-kind institutional reform Bill

THE Constitution (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 2026, among others, proposes a new Article 145A of the Federal Constitution to provide for the appointment, qualification, terms of office, remuneration, and removal of the Public Prosecutor.

Clause (18) of the proposed new Article 145A in the Bill reads as follows:

 “The Yang di-Pertuan Agong may by regulations provide for matters relating to the appointment and the procedure to be followed under this Article.”

The Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) proposes substituting Clause (18) with the following Clause:

Option 1:

“(18) The Judicial and Legal Service Commission shall inform Parliament the names of the person to be nominated as Public Prosecutor and Parliament may give comments to the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, if any, but without prejudice to the confidential nature of the nomination and the process thereon.”

Option 2:

“(18) The Judicial and Legal Service Commission shall inform Parliament the names of the person to be nominated as Public Prosecutor and Parliament may give comments to the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, if any, but without prejudice to the function exercisable by the Judicial and Legal Service Commission under Clause (1), and the confidential nature of the nomination and the process thereon.”

In its footnote to Option 1, the AGC states as follows:

“Parliament shall, upon being informed by [the Judicial and Legal Service Commission], process the information in accordance with the laws and procedures regulating the Parliament. It is a policy decision of the Government that the Attorney-General (AG) shall not be involved with the appointment and removal of the Public Prosecutor (PP).”

The AGC further proposes that the following Clauses be inserted after Clause (18) above, namely:

“(19) The Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission may prescribe in writing a code of ethics for the Public Prosecutor.”

“(20) Parliament may by law provide for matters relating to the appointment, removal, and report of the Public Prosecutor under Clause (7) of Article 145B and the procedure to be followed under this Article.”

The Parliamentary Special Select Committee which considered the Bill has opted for the following Clause:

“(18) The Judicial and Legal Service Commission shall inform Parliament the name of the person to be nominated as Public Prosecutor and Parliament may give comments to the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, if any.”

The Committee has further agreed to a new Clause (21) which reads as follows:

“(21) Notwithstanding Article 40, for the purposes of this Article, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet shall not advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.”

In essence, the proposed new Article 145A will provide for, among others, the appointment of the Public Prosecutor by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission and after consultation with the Conference of Rulers. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet will not be involved as they will no longer advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Based on the above, I think we can agree with Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said that Parliament has been given a role in the appointment process of the Public Prosecutor which “strengthens accountability and institutional checks and balances, while fully respecting the Federal Constitution, the position of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and the nation’s fundamental administrative structure.”

“Parliament will determine the procedures for carrying out its role in the public prosecutor appointment process in accordance with the laws and regulations in force," she said in an official statement on Thursday ("Government to empower Parliament in public prosecutor appointment process", The Star, June 25).

The minister also said that “Further details on the appointment process, including how Parliament will be notified and how it will provide its views before the Judicial and Legal Service Commission advises the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, will be provided for under federal law.”

The proposed new Article 145A, with the new proposed Clauses (18), (19), (20 and (21), among others, rightly represent “significant institutional reform” and “the first of its kind” in Malaysia.

Let’s share the hope of the minister “that all MPs from both the government and opposition will join together in supporting this institutional reform effort”.

The reform is not about any particular party but about strengthening national institutions, upholding the rule of law, and benefiting the people as well as future generations.

MPs should support the Bill. Otherwise the opportunity for this first-of-its-kind reform in the country could be lost if the Bill fails to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat.

HAFIZ HASSAN

Bukit Baru, Melaka