Make the attorney-general a publicly elected position, urges Kepong MP

Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng has urged voters to demand that parliamentary candidates in the upcoming general elections commit to pushing for a publicly elected attorney-general (AG) in the event they are elected.

“It is time for Malaysia to have an AG who is not a political appointment in order to be independent of the executive branch of the government,” said Lim.

Lim pointed to caretaker prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who recently said that he had declassified the investigation report into former AG Tommy Thomas’ book so it could be used as political “bullets” to attack Pakatan Harapan in the 15th general election campaign.

“Meanwhile, over the recent statement made by Ismail Sabri admitting that he had instructed AG Idrus Harun to take immediate action against former AG Thomas, Idrus can no longer remain silent,” he added.

Ismail Sabri had last week announced that the report on the investigation into Thomas’ memoir ‘Justice in The Wilderness’ will be declassified, doing so three days after Parliament was dissolved on Oct 10.

The investigation was to see if Thomas had breached various laws including the Penal Code, Sedition Act, OSA, and the MACC Act.

‘Did caretaker PM violate Constitution?’

Lim said that Malaysians are waiting for clarification from Idrus on a number of points.

Firstly, When did Ismail Sabri instruct Idrus to take action against Thomas over the contents of his book?

Secondly, as caretaker prime minister, did Ismail Sabri’s conduct subvert Article 145(3) of the Federal Constitution, which says the AG “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”?

Thirdly, was this the first time that Ismail Sabri instructed the AG to initiate or not to initiate action against someone or a body during his less than 14 months tenure as the prime minister?

“Idrus Harun has to be reminded that how he handles Ismail Sabri’s said the instruction will be recorded in Malaysian history and remembered by the legal fraternity for many years to come,” said Lim. - Mkini