KUALA LUMPUR: The separation of the roles of the attorney general and public prosecutor will be done in phases, taking into account the complexity and challenges of its implementation, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said that through the first phase, the Special Task Force on Comparative Studies was conducting research on several countries to examine and formulate the most suitable model for Malaysia.

"The countries practice the parliamentary democracy system that employs an adversarial system and various administrative structures, including federal, state, union, and others," she said.

She said this in reply to a question from Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Bharu), who wanted to know about the government's timeline for implementing the separation of powers during the question-and-answer session.

Azalina said in the second phase, the Special Technical Task Force would comprehensively examine the legal, staffing and financial implications before preparing an interim report for Cabinet consideration.

"In the third phase, a joint engagement session will be held with the Sabah and Sarawak governments as well as other stakeholders including enforcement agencies such as the Royal Malaysia Police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Royal Malaysian Customs Department and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.

"This initiative clearly demonstrates that the MADANI Unity Government is taking serious steps to ensure that the separation of the roles of the attorney general and public prosecutor can be implemented by taking into account all aspects comprehensively," she said.

-- BERNAMA