Gobind Singh Deo (Pakatan Harapan-Puchong) has questioned the silence of Attorney-General (AG) Idrus Harun over several major legal issues involving the country.
He also questioned what was the status of the attorney-general’s position as Idrus’ tenure was supposed to have expired yesterday but there have been no announcements on this matter so far.
“It would appear at this point in time, we do not have an AG. I would like to ask the government to explain what happened.
“This is important because we see there are many big cases happening now…these cases are attracting attention not just in this region but worldwide.
“Will the appointment or non-appointment of the AG have any effects on certain cases?” Gobind said during his debate on the royal address in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Idrus has also been rather reticent as the AG, Gobind said, pointing out that the country’s legal adviser appears to have said nothing about the recent case involving a US$14.92 billion (RM62.59 billion) claim by the descendants of the last Sulu sultan.
“The amount is huge, reaching RM62 billion. In such a situation, why is there no statement from the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC)?
“Don’t tell me we have an AG who just sits around and gives no explanations? Malaysia was not represented in that case. We want to ask why,” Gobind said.
He said the AG also needs to explain certain decisions made by the AGC such as when they withdraw charges against someone.
There are also many questions surrounding the case involving former Bank Negara Malaysia governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz’s spouse, Tawfiq Ayman, he said, such as why there does not appear to be any progress in the investigations.
Previously, de facto deputy law minister Mas Ermieyati Samsudin had said that the police were told to take further investigative action in Singapore but are currently unable to, due to the closed borders between the two countries.
Gobind said that cannot be as there is no reason for an investigation to be halted over closed borders.
“Not only that, I see many government representatives going to Singapore, so there is space for us to continue the probe,” he said. – Malaysiakini