AG gets ex-AG backing on Parliament sitting row

 

Former attorney-general Apandi Ali says Idrus Harun was right to come out in public to clear the confusion but former Bar president Zainur Zakaria says he should have done so privately. 

PETALING JAYA: A former attorney-general has come out in support of incumbent AG Idrus Harun, saying that he is entitled to express his legal views openly about the reconvening of Parliament.

Idrus had said recently that the reconvening of Parliament and the date of the sitting can only be done upon the Prime Minister’s advice to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

“Nothing wrong, as the AG (Idrus) was explaining the position under the Federal Constitution,” said Mohamed Apandi Ali in a text message to FMT.

Apandi, who served as the top government legal adviser from July 2015 to May 2018, said Idrus had to come out in public because the issue had caused confusion among the people.

However, former Malaysian Bar president Zainur Zakaria was of the opinion that Idrus should have given his advice to the King privately, instead of issuing a statement.

“The public gets the impression, rightly or wrongly, that Idrus is trying to support Muhyiddin Yassin,” he said.

They were responding to Pakatan Harapan leaders’ criticism that Idrus had undermined the views of the Rulers’ Conference and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong about the resumption of parliamentary meetings.

The Ruler had wanted the Parliament and state assemblies to resume sittings “as soon as possible”.

The PH leaders also accused Idrus of a breach of protocol by making his views public instead of doing so directly and privately to the King.

The PH statement was issued by PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu.

Various politicians have accused the Perikatan Nasional government of prolonging the crisis as a means of staying in power.

There have also been claims by lawyers that the King had the power to act on his own to set the date for Parliament’s resumption.

The PH presidential council described Idrus’ statement as belittling what they called a royal decree.

They also accused Idrus of disparaging the constitutional monarchy, the Federal Constitution and of acting “to protect a government that wanted absolute power without any control or time limit”.

The PH leaders also accused Idrus of breaching confidentiality, likening his relationship as legal adviser to the King and government as similar to that of a private lawyer and client.

Under the constitution, the attorney-general is appointed by the King on the advice of the prime minister and must be a person qualified to be a Federal Court judge. - FMT