Setback for Anwar: Bid to separate powers of attorney-general and public prosecutor delayed

KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has failed to get both his signature reforms across the line after a bid to remove prosecutorial powers from Malaysia’s attorney-general was sent to a parliamentary panel for improvements on March 3.

The development follows the shock setback just a day before, when a constitutional amendment to cap the term of the prime minister to 10 years was not passed in Parliament.

The twin knock-backs have raised questions about the Pakatan Harapan (PH)-led administration’s commitment and ability to fulfil its electoral pledges of democratic reforms.

“The desire to push for reforms is there, but it is a second-order priority. The first-order priority is stability. This means that political capital for reform is invested when necessary to retain allies or generate momentum for elections, rather than upfront (as a priority from the start),” ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute’s Malaysia studies programme coordinator Francis Hutchinson told The Straits Times.

The Bill to separate the offices of the Attorney-General – the government’s top lawyer appointed by the prime minister – and the public prosecutor was tabled in response to calls from a broad cross-section of Malaysian society to ensure decisions on criminal charges are independent of political pressures. 

The calls were sparked by a series of controversial decisions that have seen senior ruling party figures such as Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi let off the hook while a string of Datuk Seri Anwar’s opponents have been charged in court since he took power in 2022.

On March 3, Law and Institutional Reform Minister Azalina Othman moved for the Bill to be sent to a newly formed bipartisan special select committee chaired by her after doubts were raised over the impartiality of the prosecutor. The 12-strong committee will have at least three months to propose improvements to the Bill.

A group of 10 MPs from the Prime Minister’s own Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), led by former economy minister Rafizi Ramli, had on Feb 24 claimed the process of appointing the public prosecutor could still be influenced by the executive.

They called for the selection of the prosecutor to be vetted by Parliament instead of being directly recommended to the king by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) – several commissioners are members by virtue of the other roles in government to which the PM has appointed them, or advised the king to do so.

This includes the JLSC chairman, who is also the Public Service Commission chairman, the Attorney-General, the solicitor-general, and the chief judges of Malaya as well as Sabah and Sarawak.

The opposition Perikatan Nasional, which has 68 MPs, has also criticised the lack of accountability or checks on the prosecutor.

But Datuk Seri Azalina, when tabling the Bill for its second reading on March 3, argued that the Federal Constitution states that Parliament consists of both the Senate and House of Representatives as well as the king.

“This clearly states that the king is part of the legislative composition,” she said, adding that His Majesty’s discretion after considering the JLSC’s recommendation and consulting with the Conference of Rulers – made up of the nine state sovereigns in Malaysia – “is a form of institutional check and balance that is constitutional and professional, not one that is political in nature”.

Mr Anwar’s multi-coalition government is made up of 153 members of the 222-strong Parliament, but falls short of the 148 needed for a two-thirds supermajority without the 10 rebel PKR lawmakers.

On March 2, the amendment to limit the PM’s term gained 146 votes – just two ayes shy of the two-thirds support in Parliament needed to approve constitutional amendments.

These MPs aligned with Datuk Seri Rafizi voted in favour of the cap, but eight other lawmakers from outside Mr Anwar’s PH coalition were absent, with one even reportedly “stuck in traffic” during the March 2 vote.

“This takes us back to the fundamental point that while the Prime Minister has, through horse-trading, secured the parties’ support for him to remain as prime minister, that support does not extend to PH’s erstwhile reform agenda,” S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies’ Malaysia programme coordinator Ariel Tan told ST. “There appears to be far less resources being invested into persuading those beyond the Harapan base to support these reforms.”