Separate Roles Of Ag Public Prosecutor Says Bar

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Bar Council president Salim Bashir says Parliament should act as soon as possible to separate the functions of the attorney-general and public prosecutor.KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Bar wants the government to amend the Federal Constitution once Parliament is reconvened to separate the roles of the attorney-general (AG) and public prosecutor.
Its president, Salim Bashir, said this should be done to instil public confidence in the administration of justice, whoever was appointed the public prosecutor.
“The Perikatan Nasional government must have the political will to separate the roles as currently, the AG could be put in a difficult position in carrying out his duties in both capacities,” Salim told FMT.
He said this in response to the alleged executive interference during Tommy Thomas’ 20-month stint as attorney-general under Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s administration.
In his memoir, “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness”, Thomas claimed Mahathir informed him to avoid any open court proceedings in attempts to extradite controversial preacher Dr Zakir Naik.
He also alleged that the home ministry applied pressure on him when he decided not to appeal a High Court ruling which held judges could hear bail applications even thought an accused is charged with a terrorism-related offence.
Thomas said the ministry was also livid when he decided to withdraw charges against 12 people, who included DAP elected representatives, on terror-related acts.
Salim said the amendment should be the first order of business when Parliament resumes, and all MPs should support it as it is for the greater good of the country and the people.
“Two-thirds support of MPs is needed to amend Article 145, while only a simple majority is needed to amend Section 376 of the Criminal Procedure Code to clearly separate their roles,” he said.
De facto law minister Takiyuddin Hassan told the Dewan Rakyat in November a paper on the separation of powers would be submitted to the Cabinet by year-end, and the Attorney-General’s Chambers was at the final stages of drafting it.
In 2018, Pakatan Harapan (PH) pledged in its manifesto to separate the responsibilities of the attorney-general from those of the public prosecutor. A five-member Institutional Reform Committee (IRC) chaired by retired judge the late KC Vohrah was set up.
PH said the attorney-general would be appointed from among qualified MPs, and would be a minister acting as legal adviser to the government.
The public prosecutor, meanwhile, would be an individual free from political interests with autonomy to carry out prosecutions.
The Bar, which represents the interests of 20,000 lawyers in the peninsula, had also submitted its proposal to the IRC to separate the role of the attorney-general and public prosecutor.
It said as the public prosecutor, the attorney-general is required to act independently and impartially, and act as the guardian of public interest, uninfluenced by any political considerations.
The Bar said the attorney-general thus found himself in an unenviable and arduous position of conflict of interest from time to time, when the interest of his client – the government of the day – may not fully coincide with public interest.
It said past experience showed that such situations would arise when politicians were prosecuted for criminal offences.
In his book, Thomas also acknowledged that Article 145(5) states the attorney-general shall hold office at the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong but it actually meant the prime minister.
“As the appointer, the prime minister can terminate the attorney-general’s service. It is similar to clients terminating the services of their lawyers,” he said, adding that the attorney-general had no security of tenure unlike a deputy public prosecutor. - FMT

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