MAY 27 — Speaking at the launching ceremony of the AI Legal Justice Roadmap 2025-2026 & Peta Reformasi Institusi (PetaRI) on Thursday (May 22), Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the government was still studying and evaluating the proposed separation of the roles of the Attorney General (AG) and Public Prosecutor (PP).
Let’s quickly recall what has been said about separating the offices of the AG and PP.
In December last year, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in a special media conference that the Cabinet draft paper on the separation of powers between the AG and the PP was expected to be ready by the middle of this year.
The prime minister further said that the proposed division of functions between the AG and PP had been accepted by the Cabinet, and a minister had been assigned to lead a task force to oversee the matter.
About two weeks earlier, Azalina’s deputy, M Kulasegaran had told Parliament that the government was targeting to separate the offices “at the very least” by this year, with the Cabinet having agreed in August 2023 to commission an empirical study first, to be followed with an interim report which should be ready by March this year.
“We have the two-thirds (majority) and we can amend Article 145 (of the Federal Constitution), it’s not a problem. But the empirical study must be done because to bring change it’s usually easier said than done,” Kulasegaran said when replying to Teresa Kok (PH-Seputeh).
Attorney General of Malaysia Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar gives a thumb up ahead of a hearing in the Federal Court, Putrajaya March 24, 2025. — Picture by Choo Choy May
Azalina herself had told the Special Chamber session in Parliament in June 2024 that the first phase of the empirical study would conclude after the research by the Special Task Force on Comparative Studies in the United Kingdom (UK) was completed.
Azalina had said that the UK was the last country where Malaysia conducted an empirical study based on evidence-based research, after Canada and Australia. The empirical studies in Canada and in Australia were done from May 5 to 10 and from June 2 to 6 respectively.
So it is mind boggling that Azalina should say last week that the government was still conducting the study while hoping that a decision on the separation of the offices would be able to be made before the next general election.
More so when it was also disclosed that the study was conducted in collaboration with Universiti Malaya involving stakeholders which included the general public, law enforcement agencies, experts, and state governments.
I had suggested in September 2023 that the Federal Constitution be amended by adding Article 145A for the appointment of a Director of Public Prosecution or simply Public Prosecutor with consequential amendments to Article 145 (on Attorney General).
The government has two-thirds majority in Parliament to effect amendments to the Federal Constitution, as duly acknowledged by Kulasegaran.
In any case, any proposed amendments to the Federal Constitution to create a separate office of a Public Prosecutor should receive bi-partisan support like the constitutional amendments on anti-party hopping (Article 49A).
The proposed Article 145A (on Public Prosecutor) can read as follows:
(1) The Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall, on the advice of the Prime Minister, appoint a person who is qualified to be a judge of the Federal Court to be the Public Prosecutor for the Federation.
(2) It shall be the duty of the Public Prosecutor to discharge the functions conferred on him by or under this Constitution or any other written law.
(3) The Public Prosecutor shall have power, exercisable at his discretion, to institute, conduct or discontinue any proceedings for an offence, other than proceedings before a Syariah court, a native court or a court-martial.
(4) Federal law may confer on the Public Prosecutor power to determine the courts in which or the venue at which any proceedings which he has power under Clause (2) to institute shall be instituted or to which such proceedings shall be transferred.
(5) In the performance of his duties the Public Prosecutor shall have the right of audience in, and shall take precedence over any other person appearing before, any court or tribunal in any proceedings for an offence in the Federation.
(6) The Public Prosecutor shall hold office during the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and may at any time resign his office and shall receive such remuneration as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may determine.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
