KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition member of Parliament Datuk Seri Mas Ermieyati Samsudin has questioned the appointment of Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar as the new Attorney General.
While debating the Supply Bill 2025 in the Dewan Rakyat today, she took a dig at Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, askng if Dusuki was "one of your own", in reference to a speech Azalina made two years ago.
In that speech, Azalina had questioned why the AG at the time (Tan Sri Idrus Harun) was not "one of our own."
At an Umno briefing in 2022, Azalina had also said that in other parts of the world, a prime minister would appoint "his own person" to be the AG.
Mas Ermieyati, who is Perikatan Nasional MP for Masjid Tanah, claimed that there had been "talk" on the matter which said Dusuki was appointed as a "reward" for Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) decision over his Yayasan Akalbudi case.
She claimed Dusuki was part of the Attorney-General's Chambers appellate and trial division, and was involved in the 11 reasons which led to the DNAA decision last year.
"Is this the result? The appointment of the new AG is being talked about out there.
"We must clear the air so there is no negative perception," said Mas Ermieyati, who is also the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman.
Hearing this, Datuk Mohd Shahar Abdullah (BN-Paya Besar) Interjected and raised Standing Order 36(6), which states that no member of the house shall impute malicious perceptions to any other member.
"I respect your position as PAC chairman, but do you like bringing in hearsay into the Dewan Rakyat?
"This is not something I can take as your wisdom. As PAC chairman, you should not repeat hearsay or make malicious statements against Bagan Datuk (Zahid) and Pengerang (Azalina).
Deputy Speaker Alice Lau then advised MPs not to make hearsay as a part of their debates in Parliament.
"If Paya Besar (Shahar) wants to file a motion, he can submit it to the Speaker's office.
"I advise everyone not to bring any hearsay from outside into the lower house," she said.
Dusuki took office as the new AG yesterday, replacing Tan Sri Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh, who had been appointed as Federal Court Judge.