Idrus Harun would make better A-G, says former federal court judge

Updated 5 years ago · Published on 4 Jun 2018 2:17PM · 10 Comments

Idrus Harun was previously a solicitor-general and worked in the Attorney-General’s Chambers. – June 4, 2018.

PRIME Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad should appoint Idrus Harun as the attorney-general instead of Tommy Thomas, said former federal court judge Gopal Sri Ram.

He said Idrus, who is now a court of appeal judge, had credibility as he was previously a solicitor-general, worked in the Attorney-General’s Chambers, and had knowledge of criminal prosecution.

“Idrus, who is now in the court of appeal, is a very good man to have in mind for the A-G post.

“He comes from the chambers and was the former solicitor-general; he was eased out during the political machinations and thrust into the court of appeal.

“He would best serve the nation if he went back to the chambers and served as A-G,” Gopal said in an interview with radio station Lite.

Gopal also said he had tried to meet Dr Mahathir with fellow former judge Kader Sulaiman but had not had a chance yet as Dr Mahathir was “very busy”.

“Dr Mahathir should look for a candidate who is proficient in criminal law, and also has experience in the Attorney-General’s Chambers.”

Gopal said the attorney-general for now also doubled up as a public prosecutor and had to be seen as someone with experience in criminal law.

Even though he did not clearly say so, he was alluding to Thomas, who has little experience of criminal law in his career.

“The A-G is also a public prosecutor, until the constitution is amended. That has been there since 1957. Therefore, a person that occupies the office must have working and first-hand knowledge of criminal law, procedure, and practice .

“Otherwise, how is he going to draft a charge? What respect is the Attorney-General’s Chambers going to have for a man who doesn’t know criminal law?”

Thomas, a top lawyer and constitutional expert, has been proposed as the replacement for Mohamed Apandi Ali, whose reputation has been tainted since he cleared former prime minister Najib Razak of wrongdoing in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal several years ago.

Dr Mahathir reportedly believes that Thomas’ appointment will ensure the presence of a skilled litigator in the chambers to handle all high-profile cases, including the prosecution of those involved in the 1MDB scandal.

However, the Malay rulers have yet to give Thomas’ appointment the nod, two weeks after Dr Mahathir wrote to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong about removing Apandi, who has been ordered by the new administration to go on garden leave.

Among the objections raised against Thomas’ appointment were that he was not Malay or Muslim, raising concerns that he would not be in the right position to advise the government from an Islamic perspective.

Dr Mahathir said yesterday that Putrajaya would not nominate anyone else for the position. – June 4, 2018.

Sign up or sign in here to comment.

Comments

  • Gopal Sri Ram it is not proper to comment who is better and create more uneasiness in this stand off. IF the merits are there you should propose and suggest that Idrus Harun take up the role as Public Prosecutor. Both with distinctions in their core competence will complement each other in their task

    Posted 5 years ago by Lee Lee · Reply

    • I agree Gopal is muddled in his thoughts. Maybe the responsibilities for criminal prosecutions will be carved out from the A-G and given to the Public Prosecutor and Idrus Harun, given his experiences, is a suitable candidate. But is he a constitutional expert capable of reforming our compromised public institutions?

      Posted 5 years ago by Malaysian First · Reply

  • Gopal Sri Ram, you have missed the point. The issue now is no more about who is best for the job. It has now been snow-balled into a much larger issue – a tussle between the Monarch and the Executive, the outcome of which will affect the fate of our parliamentary democracy, practiced under the Westminster style of constitutional monarchy.
    The essence of democracy is that the power to rule is vested with the people – not the monarch or the dictator. And the people rule through their representatives, elected periodically through elections.
    For this reason, our constitution meticulously spells out that all decisions of governance are to be exercised by the Executive, except the few which have been clearly identified and stipulated as the exclusive right of the monarch.
    As such, all key appointments, except that of the PM, are to be decided by the Executive, and the appointment of the AG is no exception.
    It is sincerely hoped that despite the recent differences of opinion, the Agong will abide by the constitution and appoint the new AG as advised by the PM; and such adherence by the Agong to the constitution will certainly be looked upon as a positive development for our constitutional monarchy.

    Posted 5 years ago by Kim quek · Reply

  • PH just propose both Idrus Harun and T. Thomas to Agong and let him decide to break the impasse.
    It seems a good compromise if Idris is AG, then Thomas can be appointed as prosecutor working on 1MDB and other cases. Idris seems free from Thomas' baggages and lack of merits on rumor-mill like: * Shariah competency * Malay proficiency * Communist sympathizer * PH crony * Political lawyer * Biased prosecutor * Christian pastor * Christian evangelist * Christian proselytizer * Blasphemy (murtad) supporter.

    Posted 5 years ago by Kuasa Rakyat · Reply

    • The roles should be reversed (see my comment above). The "fake news smear campaign", IMO, was waged by 1MDB beneficiaries hoping an incompetent and corruptible (after all billions are floating around to be used) person is appointed so they may get off lightly. Even Najib find our Malay lawyers NOT up to international standards and instead hired "orang putih".

      Posted 5 years ago by Malaysian First · Reply

  • In all fairness, Gopal Sri Ram's comments may be technically more accurate based on today's Constitution, but today's Constitution is not what Rakyat wants. Today's Constitution allows this silly situation where Apandi refuse to resign, Najib and cronies cannot be charged in court, because of the risk that the AG (Apandi) can choose to discontinue any proceedings, creating a risk that crooks may get off scot-free! Rakyat wants tomorrow's Constitution - a better Constitution - not easy - and then, I would argue that Tommy is the better man for the job once the Public Prosecutor role is separated. Tun's nomination is about Tomorrow, something lawyers and judges do not comprehend because they only interpret laws based on Today. But frankly, Rakyat don't care about today which gave rise to crooks of monumental proportions, they care more about Tomorrow, how Malaysia can be a better country!

    Posted 5 years ago by Seng Hong Teoh · Reply

  • This Gopal is a jealous guy. He seems to have a free flow of comments anything and everything legal Just because he was from the judiciary he proposes someone from the same service. Without doubt the brainy lawyers are from the BAR not from the Bench. Far more important than experience is someone with the brain. The PM must have done some soul searching before picking a candidate. Is framing a charge that difficult. There are thousands of records of charges. Most of it just copy paste or sometimes just twik a bit. Anyway the AG always has experts with experience at his disposal. So leave the prerogative of appointing the AG with the PM. Don't muddle the situation any further.

    Posted 5 years ago by Saham san · Reply

  • We need a "complete" A-G to look into all things legal, affecting all segments of society..

    Posted 5 years ago by MELVILLE JAYATHISSA · Reply

  • I don't care who is going to be AG as long as Najib , Rosmah and those involved in abuse of power , cover up and corruptions are been charged

    Posted 5 years ago by Peter Poh · Reply

  • Getting an appeal court judge to be the AG is not seen as a promotion, more like a demotion, please do correct me if I am wrong.

    Posted 5 years ago by Butter Scotch · Reply