2 days ago
‘Ruling govt leads in legal reforms'
The administration has enacted a record number of new laws, says PM
KUALA LUMPUR: A record number of legal reforms have been introduced over the past two and a half years by this government, unmatched by any other administration since the country's Independence in 1957, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister said the legislation includes the proposed separation of roles of the Attorney General and Public Prosecutor, which is expected to be tabled to the Cabinet by the end of the month.
While the implementation of such reforms will take some time, Anwar added that several long-standing issues have been addressed.
'We have the Ombudsman Bill 2025, the Admiralty Jurisdiction Bill 2025, and the Cybercrime Bill 2025,' he listed, in response to a question from Datuk Rosol Wahid (PN-Hulu Terengganu) during the Minister's Question Time.
Rosol had asked the Prime Minister to list down laws that are considered outdated, which will be amended or repealed to ensure they are in line with the spirit and principles of reform that were previously championed, as well as the timeline for their implementation.
Anwar said numerous long-delayed laws and amendments had been tabled and passed, including the Public Finance and Fiscal Responsibility Act 2023, the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalties Act 2023, and amendments to laws involving sexual offences against children.
He said five new Acts were introduced while 34 Acts were amended in 2023, while in 2024, five new Acts were introduced and 57 Acts were amended.
'This year, so far, we have introduced four new Acts, six amended Acts, two new Bills and 11 Bills currently being amended,' he said. This brings the total to 23, including two constitutional amendments, one related to citizenship while the other is the Parliamentary Services Act,' he explained.
The government, the Prime Minister said, was prepared to strengthen the anti-party hopping law to ensure it serves the purpose for which it was enacted.
'I will support efforts to strengthen it,' he said to a supplementary question from Rosol.
On a separate matter, Anwar said he will wait for the outcome of the Malaysian Anti-Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) probe before deciding to apologise to Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (PN-Pagoh) over the RON95 fuel subsidy issue.
Anwar, however, said he did not instruct MCMC to investigate Muhyiddin but wanted MCMC to verify the authenticity of the claims' sources.
In the Dewan Rakyat last week, Muhyiddin demanded an apology from Anwar for accusing him of defending foreigners over the RON95 targeted subsidy initiative.
On the issue of legal immunity, the Prime Minister explained that his application to refer eight legal questions to the Federal Court was regarding the interpretation of whether an action against the Prime Minister could be considered frivolous, vexatious or an abuse of process.
'Immunity means that it cannot be disputed. The application is for the court to decide in cases whether it is possible for anyone to attack the Prime Minister in a frivolous and vexatious manner that interferes with our field of work.
'That is what the application is all about, and it is up to the court. The court makes the decision, not the Prime Minister,' he said in reply to Cha Kee Chin (PH-Rasah), who sought explanation on the allegation that Anwar was applying for legal immunity from civil and criminal cases in court.
