Lawyer and politician Zulkifli Noordin said this set-up would avoid conflict of interest as the Attorney-General's Office represented the government while a special group of prosecution officers could represent the royal institution.    

"It is not suitable for the attorney-general to carry out prosecutions on behalf of the king," he said when contacted by Bernama today.

NONE Zulkifli ( left ) supported the proposal by a former judge of the court of appeal, Mohd Noor Abdullah who wanted the government to create a special law on the offence of being traitorous to the king.

He said the Malaysian legal system needed to be amended to suit the law on disloyalty.

"The time is ripe for prosecution to be conducted by a legal officer who is skilled in law because, all this while, sometimes prosecution is performed by a police officer, and this has several weaknesses," he said.

He said, to date, there  had been no legal provision to specifically try the offence of being a traitor.

Respect  authority of the king

Currently, those  accused of being traitors are charged under the Sedition Act 1948 or the Penal Code, he said.

“The problem is, the existing law does not have a specific definition on the offence of being traitorous," he said.

Zulkifli also suggested that a special court be set up to try cases of disloyalty regarded as serious and the punishment must be severe so that the people would be aware of the importance of king's the authority.

The proposal to formulate a special law was mooted following several cases of insulting the national monarchy following the failure of the public to understand the power and the functions of the king of Malaysia.

- Bernama