Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia has stepped up pressure to force out Attorney-General Gani Patail, asking federal authorities to seek a replacement in view of his health.
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In its weekly column by Awang Selamat, the collective pseudonym used by senior editors, the newspaper said the time had come for him to step down. The editors’ remarks come two months after they first raised the subject, speculating that Gani was serving his last term in office.
Their remarks in March had come while Umno lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah was in the limelight, having led the government’s prosecution of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on contract with the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
Shafee had also made headlines in his involvement with alleged gambling kingpin Paul Phua and his criticism of the Malaysian police characterising Phua as a member of an organised triad network.
Shafee Abdullah had also public stated in January 2014 of his readiness to take on the task and that public service was more important than making money. (Shafee is in public practice.)
In today’s column, Awang Selamat said besides Gani’s health, there had also complaints over the Attorney-General’s purported delay in acting on offences related to the goods and services tax and police reports filed about insults to Islam and royalty. There were also opposition complaints about lack of action against Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali in a remark about burning the Bible.
Talk has been circulating in recent weeks that Mohd Shafee (pic) was aiming, or was being placed in position, to become the next Attorney-General. Shafee, who is in private practice, was appointed by the Attorney-General on contract to lead the government prosecution team in opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s appeal against conviction on sodomy charges.
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If it comes about, it would be a repeat of 1998, when Anwar was first charged with sodomy, and abuse of power.
It was because of that trial that Gani himself had come to prominence when he was chosen to lead the prosecution team. Anwar was sentenced to jail, but the sodomy conviction was later overturned on appeal.
Gani was appointed Attorney-General in 2002, while Musa Hassan, the police officer who led the investigation against Anwar, was appointed Inspector-General of Police in 2006.
Anwar has accused Gani and Musa Hassan, who led the police investigation, of fabricating evidence against him, an allegation which has been backed by a former Kuala Lumpur police chief Mat Zain Ibrahim.
In its March 1st posting, Awang Selamat said talk in legal circles was that Gani would retire at the end of his contract in October next year, and the names of several candidates had been raised.
He is also the government’s chief lawyer and headed the legal team to the International Court of Justice on Malaysia’s claim to sovereignty over Pulau Batu Puteh, which was disputed by Singapore. The court awarded the island to Singapore, after controversial claims about faked photographs being submitted by the Malaysian side.
Their remarks in March had come while Umno lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah was in the limelight, having led the government’s prosecution of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on contract with the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
Shafee had also made headlines in his involvement with alleged gambling kingpin Paul Phua and his criticism of the Malaysian police characterising Phua as a member of an organised triad network.
Shafee Abdullah had also public stated in January 2014 of his readiness to take on the task and that public service was more important than making money. (Shafee is in public practice.)
In today’s column, Awang Selamat said besides Gani’s health, there had also complaints over the Attorney-General’s purported delay in acting on offences related to the goods and services tax and police reports filed about insults to Islam and royalty. There were also opposition complaints about lack of action against Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali in a remark about burning the Bible.
“Rumour has it that Gani is on leave due to health problems,” Awang Selamat wrote, quoted by Malaysian Insider. “Let us pray that he recovers quickly. Personally, Awang is of the opinion that it is not right for Gani to continue to be burdened by such a heavy and challenging task.”Other criticisms of Gani have come from opposition politicians who have accused him of bias in prosecution and of abuse of power, and a suit against him has been filed by Selangor executive councillor Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad of PKR.
Awang Selamat claimed that Gani was not interested in continuing after his current contract expires. “When you reach a certain point in life, your health and time spent with your family become more precious. Let someone else take up the challenge. Who could that be?” Awang asked.
Talk has been circulating in recent weeks that Mohd Shafee (pic) was aiming, or was being placed in position, to become the next Attorney-General. Shafee, who is in private practice, was appointed by the Attorney-General on contract to lead the government prosecution team in opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s appeal against conviction on sodomy charges.
It was because of that trial that Gani himself had come to prominence when he was chosen to lead the prosecution team. Anwar was sentenced to jail, but the sodomy conviction was later overturned on appeal.
Gani was appointed Attorney-General in 2002, while Musa Hassan, the police officer who led the investigation against Anwar, was appointed Inspector-General of Police in 2006.
Anwar has accused Gani and Musa Hassan, who led the police investigation, of fabricating evidence against him, an allegation which has been backed by a former Kuala Lumpur police chief Mat Zain Ibrahim.
In its March 1st posting, Awang Selamat said talk in legal circles was that Gani would retire at the end of his contract in October next year, and the names of several candidates had been raised.
“Awang is excited to know who this new face will be… as everyone knows, the A-G seat is a hot one, what with the current challenging political landscape,” the column said.As Attorney-General, Gani has the power of the Public Prosecutor, and has been embroiled in several controversial decisions, such as choosing not to prosecute Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali who had made a threat to burn Malay Bibles.
He is also the government’s chief lawyer and headed the legal team to the International Court of Justice on Malaysia’s claim to sovereignty over Pulau Batu Puteh, which was disputed by Singapore. The court awarded the island to Singapore, after controversial claims about faked photographs being submitted by the Malaysian side.