What You Think
Who qualifies to be Attorney General? — Hafiz Hassan

DECEMBER 18 — According to The Star, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is considering three candidates for the attorney general (AG) post. The three — all judges — are Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin, Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh and Kamaludin Md Said.

Ahmad Fairuz and Wan Ahmad Farid are currently serving as High Court judges while Kamaludin is a Court of Appeal judge.

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Who qualifies to be AG?

Article 145(1) of the Federal Constitution says that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong "shall, on the advice of the Prime Minister, appoint a person who is qualified to be a judge of the Federal Court to be the Attorney General for the Federation.”

The requirement that the AG is "a person who is qualified to be a judge of the Federal Court”, and not just qualified to be a High Court judge, has been the same since 1963 when the Federation of Malaysia was formed on September 16.

A general view of the Federal Court in Putrajaya August 23, 2022. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

The Federal Court then was the apex court. Below it were the two High Courts of coordinate jurisdiction — that is, High Court of Malaya and High Court of Borneo (now High Court in Sabah and Sarawak).

The High Court was therefore the second highest court in the two-tiered hierarchy of the superior courts in the country.

A judge of the Federal Court then was ordinarily a promoted High Court judge.

Following the creation of the Court of Appeal in 1994 to create a three-tiered hierarchy, a judge of the Federal Court is ordinarily a promoted Court of Appeal judge. The appointment of Zaki Azmi as a judge of the apex court was an exception — extraordinary if you like.

It follows that the choice among the three named candidates for the AG post is obvious. He must be of sufficient seniority to be a judge of the Federal Court.

This is so that the AG can — as the Malay saying goes — "berdiri sama tinggi, duduk sama rendah” or "sekufu” with the most senior of judges in the country.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or organisation and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.

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