It has been more than 3 weeks since the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government captured Putrajaya and various ministerial positions have been filled since. Yet, the status of one of the most important of positions in the country, that of the Attorney-General (AG), is still uncertain with Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali being asked to go on leave having clearly fallen out of favour with the current administration.
The AG is perhaps the most important of positions in government after the Prime Minister as he is the chief legal adviser of the government. No doubt, the Solicitor-General (SG) can assume the role of the AG in his absence but such a practice ought not to be encouraged and should only be temporary in nature as the AG clearly has a distinct role to play on his own.
Many have called upon Apandi to resign voluntarily (myself included) as he might find himself in conflict with the current investigations into the 1MDB issue having spearheaded investigations into same in the past and having cleared former Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak of any wrongdoing in relation thereto.
Apandi’s failure to resign despite the mounting pressure for him to do so is indicative of what a liability he has become and as such, it is necessary to remove him so as to ensure the smooth running of the new administration with an AG who can actively advise the government on crucial matters engulfing the nation now, including but not limited to 1MDB.
Apandi must be removed first before Prime Minister (PM) Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is able to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the appointment of a new AG pursuant to Article 145(1) of the Federal Constitution.
The appointment of a new AG without first terminating Apandi’s contract would be ill-advised as this may lead to a challenge of the said new AG’s appointment in the future on the ground that the said new appointment is null and void as there already was an acting AG at the time of his appointment.
In the circumstances, I urge the PM to urgently disclose the current status of the position of the AG and whether Apandi’s contract will be terminated in the near future to pave the way for the appointment of a new AG. I believe this is the only course available for the removal of Apandi as AG in light of his blatant refusal to resign otherwise we will be in a situation without an active AG which is detrimental to the smooth administration of the country.
Apandi must go and his contract should be terminated forthwith for the said purpose. Once this is done, the new AG would be a position to consider if Apandi is a material witness into the 1MDB investigations and if so, if he should be summoned to provide a statement to assist in such investigations.
The PM should not wait a day longer to act in this regard as Apandi’s continued presence as the AG of Malaysia is a grave impediment to her reforms.