2016 a year of challenges for AGC: Apandi

PUTRAJAYA: The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) has endured a spate of attacks and biased perceptions hurled towards the department in the last 12 months, said Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali (pix).
He said questions were also raised on the commitment of the AGC and its ability to uphold fair and efficient administration of justice in Malaysia.
However, strong teamwork within the AGC had allowed it to get through the challenges with "poise and composure", he added.
"2016 was indeed a very challenging year for me personally and the chambers generally ... but as a wise man once said, one cannot control other people but one can control their reactions to them.
"This is exactly how the chambers endure the challenges. As severely hit as we were, the AGC remains unshaken throughout," he said in a speech at the ceremonial opening of the Legal Year 2017 at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre.
His speech was delivered by Solicitor General II Datin Paduka Zauyah Be T. Loth Khan.
Mohamed Apandi also called upon officers in the chambers to take heed of the principles embedded in the AGC's "Bertekad menegakkan keadilan" (steadfast in upholding justice) new slogan while discharging their duties.
He added the slogan serves as a guidance for the AGC to perform its responsibilities based on two major principles: to do whatever it takes to uphold justice and to uphold it without fear or favour.
"This two principles embedded in our new slogan should serve as a guide to me as the AG of Malaysia and to all my colleague at the AGC in performing our responsibilities and discharging our duties as government legal officers," he said.
Stating that the slogan should not be exclusively for AGC officers, Mohamed Apandi said it should also be practiced by all within the Malaysian legal fraternity.