KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 20): A coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on Thursday called on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to announce a clear timeline for the separation of the public prosecution function from the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC).

The NGOs further urged Anwar to assure the public that, until the separation is implemented, the AGC will refrain from actions that could undermine justice in cases involving politicians, their families, or associates.

These include filing for discharge amounting to acquittal (DAA) or discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA), withdrawing or failing to file appeals on time, or making litigation errors that could result in acquittals in cases of corruption, abuse of power, money laundering, criminal breach of trust, or tax evasion.

“If any VIP suspect were to walk free from their charges, it must be the decision of the judges after full trial and upon the final appeal, not that of the AG appointed by PM,” the statement read.

The NGOs, comprising Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek Sama), Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) and the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), issued the statement following the High Court’s decision earlier on Thursday to allow former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor's application to strike out all 17 charges against her in the RM7.1 million money-laundering and tax evasion case.

While the NGOs acknowledged the AGC’s swift decision to appeal the court’s decision, they stressed that this alone is insufficient to regain public trust.

“High Court judge K Muniandy ruled that the charges were bad in law. The money-laundering charges apparently did not even specify the key elements of the money-laundering offences.

"In fact, the public confidence in AGC has long been shattered by a series of flawed decisions or misconduct,” the NGOs said, referring to decisions such as the AGC's withdrawal of the appeal to the Court of Appeal against Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's earlier acquittal on 40 corruption charges linked to the Foreign Visa System.

They also cited the DNAA granted for all 47 charges related to Zahid's Yayasan Akalbudi case, as well as the DNAA given to Najib on a criminal breach of trust charge involving RM6.6 billion tied to the International Petroleum Investment Company.

“As long as the public prosecution is not separated from the AGC, and the AG’s tenure is controlled by the PM, the buck stops at the PM, not the AG,” they added.

Other NGOs who issued the joint statement include Aliran, Pergerakan Tenaga Akademik Malaysia (Gerak), Institut Reformasi Politik dan Demokrasi (Reform), Engage, Agora Society Malaysia, Rasuah Busters and Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia (SABM).

In March last year, Anwar announced in 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 in February 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.