Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli, one of the 10 MPs, said the Constitution (Amendment) Bill (No 2) 2026 should not be rushed due to its far-reaching implications.
“The parliamentary special select committee should obtain feedback and cross-party input from MPs to refine the proposed constitutional amendments,” he told a joint press conference in Parliament today.
Rafizi said the current draft risks concentrating power in too few hands, particularly the prime minister, who is said to influence appointments to the Judicial and Legal Service Commission.
He said the commission itself can recommend candidates and can initiate removal proceedings, while the public prosecutor can enjoy constitutional protection.
The nine other MPs are Wong Chen (Subang), Rodziah Ismail (Ampang), Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (Setiawangsa), Lee Chean Chung (Petaling Jaya), Zahir Hassan (Wangsa Maju), Hassan Karim (Pasir Gudang), Onn Abu Bakar (Batu Pahat), S Kesavan (Sungai Siput), and Bakhtiar Wan Chik (Balik Pulau).
Among other concerns raised is the absence of a formal role for Parliament in appointing and removing the public prosecutor.
Rafizi said they have suggested that the nominee undergo a public confirmation hearing before a parliamentary select committee.
“Candidates who pass the confirmation process should then be voted on by the Dewan Rakyat, requiring a majority vote to be confirmed,” he said.
“Confirmed candidates would then be presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for formal appointment.”
The MPs also proposed shortening the public prosecutor’s tenure from seven years to four, arguing that a longer term was excessive and risked concentrating too much authority in a single office.
Rafizi said the MPs’ support for the amendment, which requires a two-thirds majority, would depend on the government’s willingness to consider their proposals.
“We are not outright rejecting the bill, but demanding that it be looked through properly,” he said, adding that the bill should not be “bulldozed” without broader consultation.
Nik Nazmi said their criticism was not politically motivated.
“We are not criticising because we want to criticise. The devil is in the details,” he said.
The bill to formally separate the roles of the attorney-general and public prosecutor was tabled for its first reading yesterday.
It seeks to amend six articles of the Federal Constitution and introduce two new provisions to establish the public prosecutor as a separate constitutional office, transferring prosecutorial powers currently vested in the attorney-general to an independent officeholder.