PETALING JAYA: Law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said says she has initiated the first step in separating the public prosecutor’s office from the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).
In a Facebook post, Azalina said she participated in a meeting with representatives of the AGC, led by Solicitor-General Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh, to discuss the separation of powers between the attorney-general and the public prosecutor.
She said the AGC would prepare a paper on the restructuring plans.
“This is the first step towards the separation of powers between the attorney-general and the public prosecutor, and I hope that the good cooperation between the AGC and our office will bear fruit as soon as possible.”
Various quarters have called for the separation of the roles of the attorney general and the public prosecutor in order to preserve their independence.
In September, election watchdog Bersih urged the government to implement the separation of powers with immediate effect, noting that the AGC had established a working committee to look into the matter last year.
Citing the public outcry over the discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) of former Baling MP Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim due to a request by the deputy public prosecutor on Sept 23, Bersih said the separation of powers would remove any suspicion of political interference in cases involving politicians.
The Kuala Lumpur sessions court granted Azeez a DNAA after he submitted representations to have the three corruption charges and six money laundering charges he was facing withdrawn.
Azeez, the former Tabung Haji chairman, was charged in 2019 with accepting bribes amounting to RM5.2 million in connection with road projects in Perak and Kedah. - FMT
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