KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia now has the political will to prosecute major cases despite separation between the offices of the Attorney-General (AG) and Public Prosecutor yet to take place.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohamed Hanipa Maidin said this is apparent in the recent charging of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for a multitude of criminal cases.
Hanipa, whose portfolio is law, said hauling major figures to court was not seen under the previous administration.
“Even though there has yet to be separation (of the office of AG and Public Prosecutor), I dare say there has been big changes when we appointed a new AG (Tommy Thomas).
“We never imagined that we could charge a former prime minister. After falling from power, (Najib) was brought to court.
“This is the first time that a former PM is hauled to court," he said at the Dewan Rakyat today.
Mohamed Hanipa was answering a supplementary question from Datuk Johari Abdul (PH-PKR-Sungai Petani) on whether there was a need to setup a committee to study the issue of separating the AG’s dual roles in light of fears of abuse of power allegedly seen in the past administration.
The Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, in its 14th General Election (GE14) manifesto pledged to separate the dual roles held by the AG.