THE THIRD FORCE
The Attorney-General (AG) of Malaysia is the principal legal advisor to the Government of Malaysia (GoM). The office he represents is limited in its jurisdiction by Article 145 of the Federal Constitution, which, among others, requires him to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Malaysian Cabinet on legal matters. The AG is also required to perform legal duties that may be referred to him by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or the Malaysian Cabinet from time to time.
Now, the current AG of Malaysia is Dato’ Seri Mohamed Apandi Ali. He is wed to Puan Sri Faridah Begum, the older sister of Jahabar Sadiq. In case you don’t already know, Jahabar is the guy behind The Malaysian Insight (Insight), a partisan spinoff of the now defunct The Malaysian Insider (TMI). For the record, TMI was owned and managed by the principal director of The Edge Media Group, Ho Kay Tat, who played a major role in the weakening of the Malaysian ringgit b rolling out shoddy editorials designed to frighten investors and hurt stock prices.
Ever since Insight came into the picture, Malaysians have been misinformed on various occasions through publications dense with inaccuracies and half truths. Many of these publications were slanderous and libellous and seemed designed to paint the GoM in bad light. Just yesterday, the Jahabar-run portal did a summary review of Dato’ Seri Hamzah Zainuddin’s address to the UMNO general assembly (READ MY ANALYSIS HERE). The review was so full of libel, it threatened to incite hatred among the people against the GoM and the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Given Apandi’s family-ties with Jahabar and the impartiality the office he represents demands, there is – in my view – absolutely no reason for him to remain the Malaysian AG. I say this considering that maintaining law and order in the broader interest of national security is among his top priorities, a priority that is now in question owing to the Insight’s slanderous and libellous overtones. So tell me, do you agree that Apandi should be removed as the AG of Malaysia?
Please leave your answers in the comment section below.
