Definition of Attorney General of Malaysia
Noun
The Attorney General of Malaysia, also referred to as the A-G (Malay: Peguam Negara), is the principal legal adviser to the Government of Malaysia. The Attorney General is also the highest ranking public prosecutor in the country and is also known as the Public Prosecutor, or simply PP. The powers with regards to prosecution is contained in Article 145(3) of the Federal Constitution. Unlike a number of other Commonwealth common law jurisdictions, the head of the prosecuting authority in Malaysia is simply known as the Public Prosecutor, or PP, instead of the Director of Public Prosecutions, or DPP. In Malaysia, a prosecuting officer is known as a Deputy Public Prosecutor, also known as DPP, and it should not be confused with the previous meaning.
There are separate Attorney General chambers for the state of Sabah and Sarawak which serves the respective state government. These state chambers are also the principal prosecutors in these states. The other states in Peninsular Malaysia does not have separate chambers.
The A-G has often been accused of being partial towards the executive or offering too much deference towards the executive.
References:
- Wiktionary. Published under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
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