“As such, I don’t have any doubts about the abilities, knowledge, commitment, and dedication of lawyers in conducting their tasks without fear or favour.”
Those were the words of Attorney-General Tan Sri Idrus Harun who came to the defence of his staff recently.
Idrus’ internal letter was a response to his predecessor Tan Sri Tommy Thomas’ critical views of government legal officers in the latter’s book “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness”.
So if the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) has knowledgeable and competent people within, those in the fraternity ask: Why are private practitioners still representing the government in high-profile cases?
Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram, a former Federal Court judge turned private practitioner, and senior lawyer Datuk V. Sithambaram were appointed by Thomas as prosecutors in fiat. They represent the government in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) cases.
For the record, fiats are issued in cases where the Attorney-General, who as the Public Prosecutor, wishes to commence prosecution but is either constrained by time, resources or expertise.
Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah had also been appointed prosecutor in fiat in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s second sodomy case.
Appointing someone in fiat does not necessarily mean the AGC is incompetent. But it is clear the prosecution is “lacking in expertise” in the ongoing mother of all trials involving Najib.
Let’s not forget the damning allegations made by former Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali June last year.
Apandi claimed Sri Ram, who was accompanied by a young lawyer, Tey Jun Ren, was sent by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to discuss a move to arrest Najib in when he was prime minister. The meeting was held at Apandi’s house in January 2018.
It remains unclear if the AGC has carried out its own internal investigations following the claims made by its former boss. In fact, even the Malaysian Bar kept mum over the allegations involving two of its members.
As Idrus rubbishes Thomas and hails his staff, it looks like the government clearly still needs to rely on private practitioners to get things going.
