Time running out for Pak Lah to reform judiciary - malaysiakini

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has placed judicial reform at the top of his must-do list before handing over power to his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Razak next March. But unless he pushes for sweeping changes at the Attorney-General's Chamber, the powerful office of the Malaysian government's chief legal adviser and prosecutor, lawyers and political analysts say Abdullah's pledge will join the long list of unfulfilled promises that has come to distinguish his premiership.

“The government needs to review the vast scope of the AG's powers and bring more transparency to the office. Without this, whatever reforms will be cosmetic at best,” says Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, the country's former de facto Law Minister. He resigned from the Cabinet recently because of the opposition he faced from within the government to bring about reforms in the judiciary and the national legal system.

Unease over the AG Chambers is a widely share sentiment among many Malaysians. But that these things are now being said by a one-time member of the Abdullah administration underscores the growing concerns over the country's justice system.

Close associates of Abdullah say the Premier is aware that he needs to push for an overhaul of the AG's Chambers. But, like Zaid, he, too, is facing opposition from several senior Cabinet members and the current Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, associates say.

“The PM knows what needs to be done but he has yet to indicate how far he plans to go with the overhaul of the AG's office,” says a close associate of Abdullah, who has been involved in private discussions about judicial reforms.

The powers of the AG have long been a subject of debate, particularly because he has the sole discretion to initiate or discontinue legal proceedings in any case other than religious ones.
These powers, coupled with his role as the government's chief legal adviser, have often led to accusations of conflict of interest, especially in cases where the AG must decide whether to institute criminal proceedings against members of government.

The political dimensions of several high-profile cases in Malaysia over the past decade — such as the cases against opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim — have led critics to allege that the government has used the AG's Chambers to go after its opponents.

The AG's handling of the ongoing trial of the murder of a Mongolian model, which implicated several people connected to the office of Deputy Prime Minister Najib, has revived those criticisms.

The High Court recently acquitted a political analyst and close friend of Najib of abetting the murder of the Mongolian woman by two policemen. Prosecutors from the AG's Chambers decided not to appeal against the verdict.

“The AG's Chambers has a huge reputation for being sore losers, and it always appeals against the majority of decisions that go against it. Not doing so this time is very surprising,” says veteran lawyer Tommy Thomas.

Lawyers also say that an overhaul of the public prosecutor's office is urgent because the setback in the Mongolian murder trial joins a string of high-profile court defeats the AG's Chambers has suffered.

The prosecution has failed to secure convictions in several murder trials in recent years, and the cases remain unresolved.

Lawyers say Abdullah should consider making the AG answerable to Parliament. He should also consider establishing a position similar to that in other Commonwealth countries where the power to review evidence and conduct the prosecution of offences is held by a director of public prosecution.

“There is currently no formal mechanism requiring the Attorney-General to account for his conduct,” wrote Raja Aziz Addruse, one of Malaysia's leading constitutional experts.
“There has been no call for him to account for the failure of a number of high-profile prosecutions, which commenced with much fanfare but ended as a waste of public funds.” — Straits Times