KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 ― Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan has said the absolute prerogative of the prime minister to appoint the attorney general (AG) should be reviewed.
He called for a more transparent and credible process after former AG Tan Sri Tommy Thomas’ controversial memoir appeared to show just how powerful the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) really is.
“Details of the events mentioned in his memoirs also demonstrate the extent of the AG and his department’s influence over the administration of law in the country.
“The appointment of the AG as the absolute prerogative of a prime minister should be re-examined.
“It is even more worrying when individuals with a vested interest nominate themselves and through conversations with the prime minister as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad himself wrote,” he said in a statement today.
Mohamad also suggested that limits should be placed on the powers of the AG as a public prosecutor through a separation of roles.
He said that Malaysia must ensure that so much power is not concentrated in the hands of one individual, adding that amendments to the Federal Constitution could rectify this.
“The centralisation of power in one individual must be limited.
“The government may want to consider the separation of these roles by appointing the attorney general and the public prosecutor for different functions.
“While I am realistic that amending Article 145 (3) of the Federal Constitution requires the support of two-thirds majority and is difficult, groundwork with this goal in mind must be done for the implementation and administration of a respected and credible law,” he said.
Thomas’ book My Story: Justice in the Wilderness was released on January 30 and covers his time as AG from June 2018 to February 2020.
The memoir has ruffled feathers, with several public figures, including former prime ministers Dr Mahathir and Datuk Seri Najib Razak, as well as former Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) director Datuk Sundra Rajoo Nadarajah, decrying parts of the account as untrue.
Yesterday, Selangor Criminal Investigations Department chief Senior Assistant Commissioner Datuk Fadzil Ahmat confirmed the police are investigating Thomas over the memoir’s content after former solicitor general III Datuk Mohamad Hanafiah Zakaria lodged a police report.
