WAS Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar appointed the Attorney General (AG) because of the role he played in the acquittal of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi?

This was the question posed by Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (PN-Masjid Tanah) during the debate on Budget 2025 yesterday.

Mas Ermieyati claimed that this was the talk outside Parliament after Mohd Dusuki was announced on Monday as the new AG to replace Tan Sri Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh, who has been appointed a Federal Court Judge.

“The appointment of the AG has caused tongues wagging as he headed the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) Trial and Appeals Division, and was involved in the 11 reasons that led to the discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) of Bagan Datuk (Ahmad Zahid),” she said.

She was referring to the 11 reasons provided by Mohd Dusuki that justified Ahmad Zahid’s DNAA in the Yayasan Akal Budi case, in which Mohd Dusuki was the deputy public prosecutor.

“Is this because of the service rendered ... this is the gossip out there ... was he appointed as AG?” she said.

Mas Ermieyati also questioned whether Mohd Dusuki’s appointment was what Datuk Seri Dr Azalina Othman Said had meant when the latter said the AG should be appointed from “one of our own”.

Azalina, who is Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department’s (Law and Institutional Reforms), had in 2022 questioned why the AG was not appointed from “one of our own”.

Azalina, who is also Pengerang MP, had reportedly said that in other parts of the world, a prime minister would appoint “his own person” to be the AG.

In her remarks yesterday, Mas Ermieyati said: “Is this the result? We have to clear this up so that there is no negative perception of the legal division.”

Backbencher Datuk Mohd Shahar Abdullah (BN-Paya Besar) then stood up and asked whether Mas Ermieyati was making those statements based on hearsay.

“This is not something I can take as your wisdom. As the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, you should not make hearsay or malicious statements against Bagan Datuk and Pengerang,” he said.

Shahar also asked for guidance from Deputy Speaker Alice Lau on how to respond to Mas Ermieyati.

Lau then advised him to file a motion and then told all MPs not to bring up any hearsay.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/11/14/mp-whats-behind-new-ags-appointment