Gurdial Singh Nijar says Tommy Thomas can institute the de facto change by practice pending a constitutional amendment to separate the roles. Pic taken from FMT News
PETALING JAYA: Attorney-General Tommy Thomas can opt to either function as adviser to Putrajaya or be a public prosecutor pending an amendment to the Federal Constitution to separate the two roles, a constitutional lawyer said.
“He (Thomas) can institute a change by practice,” said Gurdial Singh Nijar.
He said this when asked how Thomas could function without a conflict of interest when the roles of AG and public prosecutor were inseparable under Article 145 (3) of the Federal Constitution.
That provision states that the AG shall have the discretion to institute, conduct or discontinue any proceedings for an offence in a civil court.
Gurdial said Thomas had been mindful of the need for a separation of the roles as early as 1983. Read more
