The newly formed Law Reform Unit in the Attorney-General's chambers held its first meeting today in Putrajaya to discuss the proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).

The two-hour meeting was chaired by Law Reform Commissioner Salmah Abdul Rahman who heads the 21 ad-hoc committee members who include former Court of Appeal judges Shaik Daud Ismail and Mahadev Shanker, and representatives from the Bar Council and other government agencies.

"Since it was our first meeting, we only had a preliminary discussion on the areas in the CPC which are in need of reform," Salmah told malaysiakini .

The next meeting which is scheduled to be held in July, will have a more in-depth discussion, she added.

When asked how ad-hoc committees members are chosen, Salmah said the individuals were chosen for their expertise in the law being reviewed.

"Committee members will always be chosen based on the relevancy of their experience to the law which is to be reviewed. For example, we chose Shaik Daud because he has vast experience in criminal law as he once headed the criminal prosecution unit at the AG's chambers and as a judge he had tried many criminal cases," she added.

Acts on AG's instruction

She also said that the unit will only be reviewing laws as directed by AG Abdul Gani Patail.

"We will only act at the AG's instruction. When the AG refers to us of the laws which he feels ought to be reviewed, then we will accordingly form the ad-hoc committee," said Salmah who stressed that the unit is only a complement to the existing mechanism on amendment of laws.

Bernama reported that Abdul Gani had officially launched the Law Reform Unit today to review outdated, improper and conflicting laws.

The unit would undertake a comprehensive study not only on specific laws but all laws which need to be amended according to the changing situation.

Legal experts would be invited to sit in the unit's ad-hoc committees to ensure transparency and openness in amending the existing laws.