A FEDERAL government controlled by an Umno-PAS coalition could possibly result in several ongoing high-profile criminal trials grinding to a halt, said lawyers.

Questions are already being raised on what will become of the criminal charges against former prime minister Najib Razak and other Umno leaders following the resignation of Attorney-General Tommy Thomas yesterday.

Lawyers told The Malaysian Insight that by law, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall, on the advice of the prime minister, appoint a new attorney-general who has the power to withdraw cases which are being prosecuted.

“What happens will depend on the attorney-general who is appointed then,” said constitutional lawyer Lim Wei Jiet.

After withdrawing cases, the attorney-general is not legally required to explain his move, although lawyers said he should.

This scenario has now come into play after events of the past week showed that there could be a new prime minister and new government as early as next week.

Anwar Ibrahim and Muhyiddin Yassin are now in a race to form a coalition to be Malaysia’s eighth prime minister.

Anwar has the backing of his Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, DAP and Amanah.

Muhyiddin, who is seen as leading in the race, reportedly has the support of Barisan Nasional, PAS, Bersatu and a PKR faction led by sacked deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali.

Both contenders are confident of getting more support from members of Parliament in Sabah and Sarawak.

Civil society groups have voiced concerns that several high-profile Umno leaders who are currently facing numerous criminal trials will be let off the hook when a new government takes over and appoints a new attorney-general.

“The attorney-general is simultaneously the lawyer representing the government and the public prosecutor,” said criminal lawyer Rajsurian Pillai.

The attorney-general is the principal legal adviser to the government, whose role and responsibilities are provided for in Article 145 of the federal constitution.

Pakatan Harapan’s promise to split the office of the attorney-general into two separate roles has yet to materialise.

In addition, a recent precedent has been set regarding the reversal of a previous decision by the former attorney-general, said civil liberties lawyer Fahri Azzat.

The lawyer pointed to a move earlier this month by Thomas, who dropped criminal charges against the 12 men for alleged links to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

“If the current A-G is replaced, there is a very strong possibility all current corruption cases against leaders of the previous BN government will grind to a halt and probably withdrawn,” said another lawyer, Americk Sidhu.

“This is why we cannot allow a back-door government comprising Umno and PAS, because if this happens we will become the garbage can of the world and I would be embarrassed to admit being a Malaysian,” Americk told The Malaysian Insight.

Umno leaders currently facing trials include Najib, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, BN secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, Pontian MP Ahmad Maslan, former Johor Baru MP Shahrir Samad and Kinabatangan MP Bung Moktar Radin. – February 29, 2020.