DESPITE a lockdown and rumours of a major upheaval following the results of the 14th general election, it was business as usual for the office of Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) today.

The barbed wire in front of the AGC building in Putrajaya has been removed and there was little sign of the tight security present around the building over the weekend.

Mohamed Apandi Ali, whose services have yet to be officially terminated, arrived about 8.30am and went straight to his office without speaking to reporters.

Civil servants were also free to go in and out of the building.

At his first press conference as Malaysia’s seventh prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamed promised that “heads will roll” at the government agencies that had shown themselves to be corrupt, naming the AGC and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission as being among the agencies where a “reshuffle” could take place.

Apandi had cleared former prime minister Najib Razak of any wrongdoing in relation to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.

Apandi became the attorney-general in 2015, when he replaced Abdul Gani Patail who had unexpectedly stepped down, citing “ill health”. His resignation came amidst a probe into the 1MDB.

Some observers believed Dr Mahathir’s comment presented a legal conundrum as Article 145 of the federal constitution states that the A-G “shall not be removed from office except on the like grounds and in the like manner as a judge of the Federal Court”.

Other lawyers have said that Apandi could only be removed after a tribunal hearing and some believed that Apandi must be given the right to be heard, while others said he could be removed because he holds office at “the pleasure of Yang di-Pertuan Agong”. – May 14, 2018.