TAN Sri Tommy Thomas’ arrogant and brash attitude will make it difficult for future leaders to appoint another non-Malay to become an Attorney-General (AG), said former minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim.
Touching on Thomas’ interview with Astro Awani, Zaid said it was nonsensical for the former to think that only non-Malays are qualified to serve as the top legal adviser to the Government or serve the Cabinet.
“He described himself as ‘Pakatan AG’ yet could not speak Bahasa Melayu even if his life depended on it.
“It was reported that Thomas regarded lawyers in the AG Chambers as incompetent. No wonder he was despised by many lawyers in his own department,” Zaid lashed out in a Facebook post.
Two days ago, Thomas said in an interview that there could be another non-Malay serving as AG in the future, provided political leaders of the day wanted it.
“To answer your specific question, yes, there is no reason why a prime minister of the day cannot say ‘I want to choose the best and the brightest and that means my Cabinet is going to be 10 Chinese, five Indians and another five from Sabah and Sarawak’,” he was reported saying.
Thomas also criticised the Government’s way handling the national vaccination rollout, adding if he would have worked to procure vaccines much earlier if he was still serving as AG.
Zaid said Thomas’ despicable remark only exposed the former’s low opinion of the Malay community, adding that intelligence and diligence were not qualities exclusive to the non-Malays.
“The qualities that is most difficult to find in a good AG are impartiality, integrity, honesty and unafraid to say no to ‘directives’ from the prime minister. Did we see those qualities in Thomas?” he queried.
Dr M wanted Gopal Sri Ram as AG initially
Zaid reminded Thomas that the latter was appointed as AG simply because DAP was in favour of him, not because he was the best legal mind in town.
He added that Thomas himself had alluded the matter in his memoir, highlighting his closeness to DAP heavyweights, former Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng and his ex-political secretary Tony Pua.
“In fact, Thomas even approached me, seeking my assistance to convince former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. However, I informed him that I was not close to the nonagenarian,” Zaid claimed.
On that note, Zaid reminded Thomas that Mahathir actually was in favour of appointing former Federal Court judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram as AG but relented to DAP’s lobby.
“Mahathir trusted Gopal as the latter helped him bury the old Umno in 1987 by convincing the late Justice Harun Hashim that since there were a few dubious Umno branches, the whole party has become illegal.
“The demise of the old Umno enabled Mahathir to form Umno Baru and in the process, excluded all his opponents from the party. You could say that Gopal had rendered invaluable service to Mahathir.
“Naturally when the second big assignment came along, that is to charge former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife in court, who else is better than Gopal to do the job effectively,” Zaid said.
Defending the AG Chambers, Zaid said contrary to Thomas’ allegations, the agency has many competent lawyers who deserve respect and capable of becoming AG.
He added that the most important quality for an AG was for the individual to remain impartial at all times and appreciate the huge responsibility being shouldered as the nation’s top public prosecutor.
“And it helps to have some humility and learn to speak Bahasa Melayu. Always put Malaysia and the interests of the people as paramount, which is difficult for lawyers who are full of themselves,” Zaid remarked. – May 31, 2021
