A NOTE to Pakatan Harapan (PH) lawmakers: Be wary when your political enemies suddenly appear kind and agreeable.

Especially on an issue which for the longest time they were disinterested in and even objected vigorously against. To be clear, the talk about amending the law and separating the powers of the attorney-general (A-G) and the public prosecutor (PP) didn’t just surface after PH defeated Barisan Nasional (BN) on May 9.

The concern that too much power is vested in the hands of the A-G has been discussed for some time now, most notably during the later years of the Abdullah administration.

Back when he was the de facto law minister in 2008, Zaid Ibrahim pushed the case for splitting up the A-G and the PP. He did not get much support from his cabinet colleagues or Umno politicians.

Correction. His vision of reform was rebuffed by the Umno types who didn’t want to ‎upset the status quo that was serving them very nicely.

Why divest the power from A-Gs who seemed very much in sync with Umno?

So that idea of splitting the A-G and the PP into two jobs ended up on the scrapheap of abandoned reforms.

After Dr Mahathir Mohamad and allies ousted Najib Razak and his team, taking the powers of prosecution out of the hands of the A-G gained traction, not surprising that it was part of the PH election manifesto.

But recently Dr Mahathir said that this reform would have to be put on the backburner because PH did not have the two-thirds majority in Parliament needed to amend the constitution and push through the separation of powers.

Enter Ahmad Maslan and Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man. Both men stood up in Parliament today and said that their parties would support government in amending the law.

Beware of political enemies bearing gifts.

Why support the separation of powers now? Why champion the reform of the legal system at this juncture?

Why now after all these years of indifference and opposition?

Perhaps because the current attorney-general is furiously charging everyone in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal and throwing the book at individuals who have allegedly pillaged or were grossly negligent in handling the public purse.

By and large, those charged or being investigated are either high-ranking Umno members or those connected to Umno.

What better way to pull the handbrake on this enforcement action than to take away the power of prosecution from the A-G, and put it in the hands of someone less zealous in cleaning up the muck in Malaysia.

Political pundits believe that Umno and PAS have a more insidious plan.

Both these parties may give the impression of supporting the move to separate the powers of the A-G and PP but what they really desire is the opportunity to embarrass Dr Mahathir Mohamad and PH in Parliament.

And that opportunity will present itself if a bill to amend the constitution and separate the powers of the A-G and PP is put before the House.

They want to create and nurture the impression that the PH government’s hold on power is tenuous. They want to frustrate and defeat the PH reform agenda at every turn, hoping that this outcome will sow the seeds of disillusionment on the ground.

What better to embarrass a sitting government than to scuttle a high-profile bill to amend the constitution.

Be wary of political foes bearing gifts. – December 5, 2018.