The legal affairs division of the Prime Minister’s Department said today the Cabinet had decided to implement the two roles as separate and equal positions under the Federal Constitution.

This comes after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in December the Cabinet had accepted a proposal to separate the functions of the attorney-general and the public prosecutor.

“For this purpose, amendments to the Federal Constitution, specifically articles 145, 183 and 42 will be drafted separately to create a public prosecutor’s position empowered on its own.

“A Law Reform (Public Prosecutor) Bill will be drafted as an omnibus amending the Criminal Procedure Code and 18 other related Acts.

“A new Act will be drafted regarding the remuneration of the attorney-general and public prosecutor, similar to the Judges’ Remuneration Act 1971,” the division said in a statement.

It said the Cabinet had also agreed that the implementation would be done in phases, with adjustments to current structures and procedures.

“As such, the special technical task force led by the legal affairs division will continue detailing all aspects of implementation, including organisational structure, staffing, logistics and financial implications.

“The complete set of recommendations will be submitted to the Cabinet for consideration,” it said.