No deadline to separate A-G’s dual role, says Hanipa
KUALA LUMPUR: The government has not set a firm deadline to separate the role of public prosecutor from the attorneygeneral, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohamed Hanipa Maidin.
Hanipa, whose portfolio is law, said while Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) manifesto promised to separate the two roles that currently resided with the A-G, it did not fix a time frame to do so.
“The PH manifesto did state the separation of the role of attorney-general from public prosecutor.
“However, PH did not fix a date and the government is studying the matter,” he said.
He was answering a question from Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said (Barisan Nasional Pengerang) during the questionand-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat here yesterday.
Hanipa said the process of separating the dual roles of the A-G required the government to look at amending related laws, such as the Federal Constitution, the Penal Code and The Interpretation Act.
He said it was necessary to amend Article 145 of the Federal Constitution, which enshrined the dual role of the A-G.
“Article 145 of the Federal Constitution states that the A-G is not just a public prosecutor, but also an adviser to the Yang di Pertuan Agong, the cabinet or minister on legal matters.”
In reply to a question from Wong Kah Woh (PH-Ipoh Timor) on what the government can do to prevent a conflict of interest in jurisprudence due to the A-G having dual roles, Hanipa said records showed that no such interference had taken place.