Letters - Attorney-general’s integrity and leadership

AS one of the foremost institutions constitutionally enacted to safeguard the integrity of the country's legal system, the Attorney-General's Chambers must exercise the utmost care and wisdom in interpreting our laws. The attorney-general who heads the AGC is the principal legal adviser to the government and also the highest ranking public prosecutor in the country.
The AG, Tan Sri Mohd Apandi Ali, and officers of the AGC are therefore tasked with the heavy responsibility of knowing every aspect of the law of the land and manifesting this knowledge in the most judicious legal decisions. Their exposure to and training in legal reasoning would equip them with outstanding skills to examine the minutest detail in a case under investigation in order to recommend a solution which is acceptable to the government. In this the AG must take cognisance of the fact that the government of Malaysia's constitutional monarchy as laid out in the Federal Constitution is the sum total of all its branches – the executive, legislative and judicial. The role of the Conference of Rulers is supreme.
While the AG's function is to advise the government on legal matters in order to ensure the nation's integrity, the other institutions in the country constitute important parts of the government machinery. A befitting analogy is that the AGC represents the head with a legal brain chamber. But without the other chambers of the brain, the heart, liver, kidneys and other vital organs the government body would cease to function. Without the cooperation of and input from the other institutions, the AG's decisions would be disjointed, one-sided and biased.
As the arms and legs and even toes that keep the country balanced and upright and its cogs and wheels running, the rakyat have the right to comment on the issues that affect them, especially with regard to how their money is spent. In fact, as part of the government's more inclusive strategies, we are invited to give suggestions on current developments such as the budget, education blueprint and other government transformation plans. We applaud this move towards greater people participation in Malaysia's young democracy.
However, the AG's hurried 10-minute press conference on the 1MDB probe at which no questions were entertained was a poor demonstration of inclusiveness at work. What was even more disconcerting was the AG's decision to dismiss Bank Negara Malaysia's application for a review of the central bank's investigations into 1MDB.
As a concerned rakyat who is utterly bewildered by the manipulations and manoeuvrings by politicians, accountants, bankers, lawyers, board members and other professionals in the 1MDB fiasco, I appeal to Tan Sri Apandi to show exemplary leadership in sorting out the webs in this national fiasco – a financial scandal which will have far-reaching international repercussions detrimental to its image. The legal basis of the AG's arguments to close Bank Negara's probe is inadequate to handle the complex banking and accounting issues involved.
If Bank Negara, the institution tasked with handling the country's monetary movements, is calling for a review of its own investigations because of possible undetected anomalies, there's no good reason why this move towards greater transparency and accountability should not be allowed. If there is suspicion that the central bank's officials were not thorough in conducting the banking transactions and may have committed an offence, all the more reason why the AG must support a review. The AG's argument that there must be proof that an offence has been committed is unacceptable as the only sure way to get proof is to reopen the investigation.
In this, Malaysia's attorney-general must demonstrate the highest level of legal reasoning coupled with unblemished personal integrity in his allegiance to the country and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong who appointed him.
Datin Halimah Mohd Said
President
Association of Voices of Peace, Conscience and Reason (PCORE)