On the one hand, said Wan Saiful, the AG is supposed to act in the public interest on criminal cases, but on the other hand, he’s the chief legal advisor to the government. “For cases that concern members of the government, it’s obvious he has major conflict of interest issues.”

He was commenting on former Attorney-General Abu Talib Othman criticizing the Attorney-General’s decision to close the RM2.6 billion case linked to the Prime Minister’s personal bank accounts.

“I have to emphasize that without reforming the AG’s Chamber, any effort to improve MACC’s investigation quality and its independence will be of little use,” said Wan Saiful. “The AG’s powers are presently all-encompassing.

“We need to urgently introduce a check and balance mechanism for anyone whose position is given such far-reaching powers. We must separate the AG’s Chambers from the Public Prosecutor.”

IDEAS, together with several other organizations, in its memorandum to reform the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), had previously stressed the need to separate the Office of the Attorney-General and the Office of the Public Prosecutor to improve accountability and remove conflict of interest in that institution.