KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 11 — The Attorney-General (AG) should get used to being tried in the court of public opinion as Malaysia being a democratic nation means the public have a right to scrutinise those in positions of authority, a veteran newsman said today.

Datuk A. Kadir Jasin also pointed out that Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali handles various high-profile cases like that of the prime minister’s RM2.6 billion donation and SRC International’s RM4 million bond, both of which involve public interest.

“As a former lawyer, politician and judge, Mohamed Apandi should be used with the public’s right to judge and decide about something or an issue.

“I am confident that he is more than used to, and understands, the propensities of the court of public opinion,” the former New Straits Times editor-in-chief said in a blog post today.

He added that so long as these cases are not tried in a court of law, they will instead be tried in the court of public opinion.  

Even Malaysia’s top officials like the Inspector-General of Police, the Bank Negara Governor, and the Chief Secretary to the government should accustom themselves to public scrutiny, which, Kadir said, is par for the course.

The spotlight is now on the AG after he said on Friday that he was carefully examining investigation papers submitted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on SRC International Sdn Bhd and the RM2.6 billion deposited in the prime minister’s accounts.

Last December 31, the MACC said it had submitted two investigation papers on SRC International to Mohamed Apandi after completing its probe and questioning over 100 witnesses.

The MACC also said then that it had submitted one investigation paper regarding the RM2.6 billion amount to the prosecutor after speaking to the donors and domestic witnesses, adding that it was still seeking evidence and documents from several financial institutions abroad.