IT looks like a debate is taking place on who should be named the new attorney-general (AG) to replace Idrus Harun, who is reportedly ready to step down before his contract expires next March to give Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim a chance to pick his own man.

Recently, prominent lawyer and retired judge Gopal Sri Ram was reported as saying that judges would be most appropriate to be appointed as the AG. 

On the other hand, there have been arguments the replacement should come from within the chambers.

According to Gopal, a sitting judge appointed as attorney-general is “trained to be fair in advising the government on non-policy issues, administrative matters and enforcement of laws”.

He also said “a judge would take a holistic approach as he would have handled criminal and civil cases”. 

“He will know where the balance of justice turns. Fairness, rather than a biased view, will be the approach of a judge,” he told Free Malaysia Today.

Charles Hector of the Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture movement disagreed, saying such appointments would raise questions about the independence of the judiciary and the judges themselves. 

He suggested that a senior public officer such as a federal counsel or prosecutor from within the AGC or a lawyer be appointed as the AG.

Let me once again reiterate my view on this, on why the position should be filled from within the AGC.

I firmly believe that the new person in charge must know the nuances and inner workings of the AGC. This includes being well versed with the numerous divisions in the AGC as well as with the personnel.

For the record, there are many divisions within the AGC. They include advisory; civil; prosecution; drafting, appellate and trial; law revision and reform; international affairs; research; shariah and harmonisation of law; and management.

In view of such numerous and distinct divisions within the AGC, no one can dispute the fact that an AG appointed within the system must be all-rounder, as he will surely have the hands-on experience and exposure not only on the realities but also on the management of all the divisions.

The AG is not only limited to handling civil or criminal cases (as has been wrongly stated by Gopal) but he or she is required and expected to be a good administrator as well, especially so when AGC consists of thousands of employees. 

With all due respect, judges may lack this kind of exposure particularly in understanding the inner workings as well as the human resource and management skills as those sitting on the bench, with only a handful number of staff assisting them. 

A judge who is put in a new position to head the AGC without proper exposure will require time to understand and appreciate these inner workings. He can also be easily misled for lack of exposure. 

On the contrary, a newly appointed AG from within the AGC would have hit the ground running immediately as he is already familiar not only with AGC’s officers but most importantly, the system and the work ethics and culture. 

Gopal also said Malaysia should follow the example of Singapore in appointing serving and former judges to be the AG. 

However, it is unfair to compare with our neighbours as their pool of candidates is smaller than ours.

A serving judge sitting as AG is also open to compromise as he may be confronted to decide on cases in which he has already presided or made a decision. 

As I had argued in my previous article, the morale in the AGC would be affected if an outsider were brought in, especially an unpopular one. We do not want a situation, for example, a “rising star” within the AGC demoralised for not being able to climb the ladder due to this kind of practice where the government always overlooks the AGC pool and bring in an outsider. 

Anwar should not look any further as he will have this talent pool within the AGC itself. As a matter of fact, it would be a mockery of the succession provisions provided in the Federal Constitution and the criminal procedure code where, by operation of law, these provisions envisage the solicitor-general to step in for the AG in his absence. 

I hope Anwar is wise in making a decision to nominate someone from within the AGC to the Agong as the next attorney-general. – December 30, 2022.

* Ali Rahman Firdouse is a retired legal practitioner.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.