There is no need to demand attorney-general Mohd Apandi Ali’s resignation just for dancing with ministers, his predecessor Abu Talib Othman says.

“Of course, if it is just dancing, it cannot be a good reason to ask him to step down, is it not?

“If it proven that he is incompetent or has got an issue with integrity, then obviously that’s a good reason. But just dancing, I don’t think it is a reason to ask him to step down,” Abu Talib told Malaysiakini yesterday.

On Sept 2, lawyer Haniff Khatri released a video that showed Apandi dancing with several cabinet ministers.

Haniff, who is the lawyer for Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said this was unbecoming of the attorney-general, especially amid the 1MDB scandal.

Apandi has remained silent on the video, while Natural Resources and Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, who was among the ministers caught in the video, said there was nothing wrong with Apandi’s conduct.

Meanwhile, former Batu Kawan Umno division vice-chief Khairuddin Abu Hassan demanded that Apandi resigns over the matter.

Khairuddin handed a memorandum demanding the resignation at Apandi’s office on Sept 5, and filed a fresh affidavit at the Kuala Lumpur High Court for his judicial review against Apandi, to include the video.

Another lawyer, Wan Azmir Wan Majid, has also said the attorney-general needs to be seen as independent, but added that the dancing incident was too trivial to call for Apandi’s resignation.