KLANG – The recent court judgement that found former attorney-general Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali had deceived on issues relating to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) highlights the importance of separating the role of the AG and public prosecutor.
Klang MP Charles Santiago said following this recent development, it is incumbent on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to make the separation of powers his highest priority now.
“One of the reasons this (abuse by Apandi) happened is because of the very powerful nature of the AG, where he is both the investigator and the prosecutor,” he told reporters today.
“There also appears to be collusion between him and the former prime minister (Datuk Seri Najib Razak). This must stop. Therefore, the government must separate the AG and the public prosecutor.
“I would like to encourage the prime minister to learn from this experience and introduce this change, to ensure public accountability and for the public to have faith in the system.”
Santiago said this after being called in by police today to assist in investigations against Apandi. The DAP lawmaker had previously on Wednesday filed a police report against the former AG.
In his report then, Santiago had pushed police to initiate a probe into Apandi for fabricating information and lying while in office in an apparent bid to cover up for Najib over accusations involving 1MDB and its subsidiary.
Bukit Aman yesterday confirmed that an investigation paper has been opened following several police reports lodged against Apandi.
The reports follow the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s decision on July 22 to dismiss a defamation suit filed by Apandi against DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang over a 2019 article.
In her judgement, justice Datuk Azimah Omar had said Apandi appeared disinterested and self contradictory when testifying in the RM10 million suit, and that the latter overtly showed disinterest and indifference to elementary rule of law and common sense.
She expressed disdain to the sordid extent of the plaintiff’s self-contradictory testimony, evasiveness and outright untruth over questions of the RM2.6 billion donation received by Najib, and Apandi’s decision to absolve the former premier.
Chiefly, justice Azimah had noted that Apandi had lied about flying a delegation to Riyadh and personally meeting the alleged donor himself then, after the latter admitted that they did not meet nor speak (to the donor).
Call on MPs to file reports
Santiago said the learned judge’s clear indictment against Apandi was “phenomenal” and that it warrants the prime minister’s personal attention.
With police opening an investigation into Apandi, Santiago has urged more Malaysians, including his colleagues in Parliament, to pile the pressure on the former AG by filing their own police reports.
“I would like to invite other Malaysians, be it NGOs or political parties, to make reports. MPs and senators should be involved as well.
“Other parties should come forward and create a momentum to ensure there is no more abuse,” he said.
Lawyer John Fam, who accompanied Santiago during the questioning today, echoed the DAP lawmaker’s call for a separation of power between the AG and public prosecutor following Apandi’s rampant abuse of power.
“Yesterday, the Dewan Rakyat’s passing of the anti-party hopping law was a historic one.
“I think the next step is to amend the law to separate the AG’s role from the prosecutor.” – The Vibes, July 29, 2022
