Sources said officers within the Attorney-General’s Chambers who could be picked to fill the vacancy included Solicitor-General (II) Umar Saifuddin Jaafar, head of the trial and appellate division Dusuki Mokhtar and prosecution division chief Masri Daud.
Another possible candidate is Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission legal and prosecution division director.
All have been in the legal service for more than 20 years.
According to Article 145 of the Federal Constitution, the AG is appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the prime minister and the person appointed must be qualified to be a judge of the Federal Court.
Under Article 123 of the constitution, a person qualifies to be a Federal Court judge if he is a citizen, and has for the 10 years preceding his appointment been a practising lawyer or a member of the judicial and legal services.
Another possibility is for a lawyer to be picked as AG, similar to the appointment of Tommy Thomas by the Pakatan Harapan government in 2018.
A source said a top contender is Azmi Ali, a senior partner with one the largest legal firms in Kuala Lumpur. He has been in practice for about 30 years.
According to information on the website of Azmi & Associates, he is one of the leading corporate lawyers in Malaysia with expertise in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, cross-border transactions, project finance, privatisation, energy, oil and gas and foreign investments.
Another lawyer, Baljit Singh Sidhu, could be considered, especially given his vast experience and expertise in criminal law litigation over the last 25 years.
Baljit is a member of the royal commission of inquiry formed to review the handling of the sovereignty case surrounding Batu Puteh and is on the advisory panel of the MACC.
Former Malaysian Bar president Salim Bashir said the AG had to be a candidate of unimpeachable integrity, stature and leadership in the legal profession.
“The AG, who also acts as a public prosecutor, wields considerable power in the criminal justice system and, therefore, he should be someone who has the experience and a thorough understanding of criminal law,” he said.
Salim said as the guardian of public interest, the AG was the voice of the rule of law and would need to advise the government on ways to conform with the Federal Constitution and all written laws.
Meanwhile, a retired deputy public prosecutor said any AG appointed should also have a working understanding of drafting, law revision and law reform, international affairs and research divisions in the AGC.
“The AGC is not all about criminal and civil divisions. The AG must be an all-rounder and give undoubted legal opinions when sought and relied on by ministries and departments.
“Such opinions are not equivalent to submissions made in court before a ruling is made,” said the retired DPP, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Lawyer R Kengadharan said the new AG should put the nation, the people and the welfare of his subordinate officers as priority in discharging his duties.
“The AGC will suffer if an AG is appointed for a short term. He must be given more time to enhance the skill and expertise of his officers for the betterment of the public interest,” he said.
Kengadharan said former AG Gani Patail, who served for 13 years until 2015, was noted for his leadership qualities despite the many shortcomings during his tenure.
He said that since the departure of Gani, subsequent AGs had been in office for a short duration.