KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysian government has initiated a move that will see the attorney-general (AG) no longer also serving as the public prosecutor.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Takiyuddin Hassan in a statement Friday said the government was making plans to separate their functions.
He said this is to ensure justice and to fulfill the principles of the rule of law as well as to avoid conflicts of interest.
Takiyuddin also said that the matter would be improved through a comparative study with other countries but with the suitability of the Malaysian legal system.
He said that this is being considered by the federal government, which is always open and ready to adopt measures to preserve the integrity and public confidence towards the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) and its likes.
Takiyuddin said the government also has no objection in considering the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) if there is a need-based on facts and law and if there are questions of integrity and confidence in the legal authority, which he added should act as an advisor to the government in legal aspects as well being the gatekeepers of criminal justice.
Earlier on Friday, Dewan Rakyat (Malaysian Parliament) Deputy Speaker Azalina Othman, in a Facebook posting, called for an RCI to be set up to reform the AGC.
Azalina said current developments in the country have caused the public’s trust in the AGC to erode.
— NNN-BERNAMA