KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 ― With Malaysia’s reputation tarnished over several high-profile corruption allegations, lawyer Lim Chee Wee urged Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali today to clarify his prosecutorial policy.

Lim, co-president of a public policy watchdog Centre For A Better Tomorrow, said Mohamed Apandi has a duty to explain his decisions whether or not to press charges against individuals who have been investigated for corruption as he is Malaysia’s law custodian and its public prosecutor.

“It would be fair to say Malaysians are in despair over corruption and are sceptical whether there will be independent and impartial prosecution.

“Therefore, if AG were to decide differently from the recommendations of any law enforcement agency in high profile corruption cases, he is obliged to state publicly detailed reasons for the different position he is taking, especially if he decides not to prosecute any suspect believed to be involved in any wrongdoing in any high profile cases,” he said in a statement.

Lim noted Malaysia had been internationally shamed after US magazine Foreign Policy included it in a list of the top 10 worst corruption scandals last year, and pointed that this view was shared by a significant number of Malaysians viewing graft as a major problem in the country, based on a recent survey by independent pollster Merdeka Center.

He reminded Mohamed Apandi that while Article 145 of the Federal Constitution merely states that the AG shall have power, exercisable at his discretion, to institute, conduct or discontinue any proceedings of an offence, his counterparts in other countries like the US, Australia and the UK have publicly disclosed their prosecutorial policies.

“Such transparency provides certainty in prosecution and promotes public confidence in the fair and independent exercise of prosecutorial power. 

“However, AG has yet to disclose his policies and principles of prosecution,” Lim said of Malaysia’s public prosecutor.

The former Malaysian Bar president suggested Mohamed Apandi to take a cue for making his prosecutorial stand more transparent from the Code for Crown Prosecutors in the UK, which he said provides a threshold for the state prosecutor to consider in taking any case to court.

Lim also reminded Mohamed Ali that the AG’s decision can be challenged in a court of law, pointing to the High Court’s ruling last year in a landmark case involving lawyer Rosli Dahlan who had sued former AG Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail and several others.

The spotlight is on Mohamed Apandi after he said last 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.