Pakatan States to have own Legal Advisers?

updated 1 July 2010:

Nazri says Pakatan states can’t have own legal advisers...

read the rest here.

Original Post:

Here is news from TheStar dated 30 June 2010:

Pakatan to appoint own lawyers in four states

KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Rakyat has decided to appoint its own legal advisers and lawyers in the four state governments under its control, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.

Anwar claimed that the legal advisers from the Attorney-General’s Chambers were not independent in giving their input on state legal affairs as they were appointed by the Federal Government.

“This had made work difficult at state level,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

The opposition states are Kedah, Kelantan, Penang and Selangor.

read the rest here.

This latest devisive Pakatan move needs some real explanation because as far as my layman's knowledge is concerned The State Legal Advisors of all states in Malaysia reports to the Attorney General.

I understand that generally in Malaysia's parliamentary democracy, the function of the Office of the State Legal Adviser is to:

- advise the State Government on all legal matters;
- to draft all legislations for the State and to arrange for the publication in the Gazette;
- to conduct prosecution of criminal cases;
- to represent the State Government in civil cases;
- to revise and reprint the laws of the State;
- to prepare legal documents for the State.

It is therefore obvious that the State Legal Advisor is appointed by the Attorney General's Office and no one else.

I hope the Attorney General TS Gani Patail will come out with a press release on the issue which if not controlled could unfold into a very serious legal crisis and confuse the rakyat even further. I would also like to hear from the Bar Council on this matter, but I doubt there will be a response from them.

Anwar's claim that the legal advisers from the Attorney-General’s Chambers were not independent in giving their input on state legal affairs as they were appointed by the Federal Government is a very lame and divisive excuse. The PDRM, the Armed Forces, BOMBA, The Medical Services are all provided by the Federal Government so does it follow that with Anwar's logic all these Security and Other Services provided by the Federal Government be changed as well, by who? PAS's Unit Amal?