In delivering his maiden speech at the opening of the Legal Year, Terrirudin said the public prosecutor’s discretion to file or discontinue charges is enshrined under the Federal Constitution.
“It is pertinent to emphasise that the office of the public prosecutor must be permitted to discharge its duties under the constitution.
“Stakeholders must understand the role of public prosecutor,” he added.
Previously, civil society leaders demanded an explanation over the prosecution’s request for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) for deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in his Yayasan Akalbudi case, last September.
At the time, former Malaysian Bar president Ambiga Sreenevasan said the prosecution’s decision turned the trial into “an utter waste of public funds” and a waste of the hard work by members of the Attorney-General’ Chambers (AGC).
Zahid, a deputy prime minister, had been accused of embezzling millions of ringgit from Yayasan Akalbudi and accepting bribes for various projects during his tenure as the home minister between 2013 and 2018.
Legal experts had also urged the AGC to consider explaining its decisions in high-profile cases to assure the public that there was no double standards involved.
Meanwhile, the AG said he would not hesitate to bring people who manipulate the 3Rs (race, religion, royalty) to justice under the Sedition Act, in order to preserve public order.
Terrirudin said the AGC does not aim to just “win every case” in court but is duty bound to prosecute fairly.
Earlier, in her speech as Malaysian Bar president, Karen Cheah said they are looking forward to having a proposed constitutional amendment to separate the AG and public prosecutor’s office to be tabled at the Dewan Rakyat this year.
“We hope this reform can materialise this year, after seeing DNAAs (discharge not amounting to acquittal) granted in cases of public interest,” she told the gathering of the legal fraternity at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre.
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