Lim told Apandi to stop stalling when the latter is already on garden leave. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 — Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali should do the honourable thing and tender his resignation immediately, DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang said today.

Lim told Apandi to stop stalling when the latter has been on garden leave since the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition became the new government, replacing the Barisan Nasional (BN) that had appointed him to the A-G post.

“The two-week stalling by Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali from resigning as Attorney-General is petty and long enough — he should immediately resign without further ado if he does not want to be the greatest obstacle to legal reforms in Malaysian history.

“Apandi cannot pretend that his appointment as Attorney-General is not akin to a political appointment, whether in the form of a contract or otherwise,” Lim said in a statement.

The Iskandar Puteri MP also urged the other BN “political appointees”, including senators, those at government-linked companies and public bodies to similarly hand in their resignations.

He noted the only BN appointee to have “acted honourably” is Tan Sri Shahrir Samad who quit as Felda chairman after losing in the May 9 general election.

“What are these 17,000 political appointees waiting for instead of submitting their resignations without any further ado?” he asked, referring to the whopping figure given by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad after taking office.

Dr Mahathir continued to swing the axe after chairing the first PH Cabinet meeting today, saying the government will dismiss 17,000 contractual employees and reduce ministers’ salaries by 10 per cent.

He announced the disbandment of several agencies, including the Land Public Transport Commission and the Special Affairs Department — parked under the Prime Minister’s Department — as part of his government overhaul and move to cut spending amid an enormous debt he placed at over RM1 trillion.