Kuala Lampur, July 24 -- All decisions made by the Public Prosecutor (PP) aka Attorney General (AG) on whether to prosecute or not to prosecute should promote consistency in decision making.

This is where a prosecution policy would be useful.

The policy should outline the relevant factors and considerations which should be taken into account when prosecutors exercise their discretion to institute, conduct or discontinue any proceedings for an offence.

The policy should also serve to inform the public and lawyers of the principles which guide the decisions made by the prosecutors.

In Australia, the Prosecution Policy of the Commonwealth provides a two-stage test that must be satisfied before a prosecution is commenced.

First, there mu...