KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 4): The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) has urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to announce a clear roadmap and timeline for the separation of public prosecution from the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) within this week.

“Further delay in AGC reform may greatly damage credibility for the Madani government, which is now associated with terrible precedence for politically-connected trials,” said Bersih in a statement on Monday.

As it stands now, the attorney general (AG) is a political appointee advising the government who plays the duo role of the public prosecutor (PP) that holds the power to initiate or drop criminal charges However, this power can be abused or weaponised for political reasons, said Bersih.

The statement was issued in the wake of the High Court's decision earlier Monday to grant Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in his case involving the alleged dishonest misappropriation of RM31 million belonging to charitable foundation Yayasan Akalbudi.

Bersih called on the AGC to review Zahid’s DNAA from all 47 charges in the case, adding that the prosecution owes the public an explanation as to why the DNAA request was made despite the fact that a prima facie case has been established.

“The request for DNAA by the deputy public prosecution at this stage of Zahid's trial strongly reinforces the urgency to separate the PP and AG — nothing less will restore the credibility of the PP — indeed, the whole government — after this decision,” it said.

In March, Anwar announced in the Dewan Rakyat that the government was mulling a proposal to separate the prosecutor's office from the AGC.

Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman said last month that the government is set to undertake a comprehensive empirical study within one year before finalising the proposed separation of powers. About 19 existing laws, as well as the Federal Constitution, need to be amended for the separation of power implementation, she said.