In a statement, Hanafiah said that the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) is part of the federal government and therefore it would receive “direction and instruction” from Putrajaya.

He said the AGC will always adhere to the government’s directives so long as they are lawful and not against the Federal Constitution or any written law.

Therefore, Hanafiah said, it was his duty as a solicitor-general in charge of prosecution to inform the deputy public prosecutors of the government’s directive to expedite cases linked to the former administration.

It was also consistent, he argued, with the Criminal Procedure Code which stipulates that any “trial shall commence not later than 90 days from the date of the accused being charged”.

“Furthermore, Malaysians are anxiously awaiting for the trials of the respective cases to start,” he said.

Hanafiah said the attorney-general was also of the view that the cases must be expeditiously settled, and the email was a reminder to the DPPs concerned that the cases must proceed as scheduled and that there shall be no delay in conducting the cases.

“However, we do take note that ultimately, it is for the trial judge to decide whether an adjournment is to be granted or not.”

Yesterday, MCA questioned the impartiality of the AGC after Hanafiah’s letter – which has since gone viral on social media – asked that efforts to delay cases related to the previous “kleptocratic government” be “strongly objected to”.

The letter specifically refers to the graft trial involving 1MDB and SRC International.

Hanafiah dismissed MCA’s claims, saying the party was just making assumptions.

Today, he said that the directive was an internal matter within the AGC and expressed surprise as to how it was leaked as it was not addressed to anyone outside the AGC.