WITH many politicians livid over former Attorney-General (AG) Tan Sri Tommy Thomas’ memoir, an Umno leader has urged the Government to form a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to the investigate the former.
“Don’t let Thomas get away scot-free. Has Bukit Aman summoned him? It’s fair for the Government to establish a RCI to investigate him.
“Hundreds of police reports have been lodged against him, including by his predecessor Tan Sri Apandi Ali and ex-Solicitor-General Datuk III Datuk Mohamad Hanafiah Zakaria,” said Umno supreme council member Datuk Puad Zarkashi in a Facebook post.
Last month, Thomas published a memoir, entitled “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness”, which created shockwaves among his well-wishers and critics alike.
Among the issues he touched in the book was about the struggles he faced while prosecuting the 1Malaysia Development Board (1MDB) scandal and on why the former Pakatan Harapan Government dragged its feet in establishing a RCI to probe the Judiciary, despite a damning affidavit of alleged abuse of power by those on the bench by a respected judge.
For the record, Apandi was the AG during the tenure of former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and had refused to prosecute anyone over the 1MDB scandal.
Hanafiah, on the other hand, was accused by a land developer last year of abuse of power, on claims that the former had allegedly lobbied the AG Chambers to drop cheating and embezzlement charges against a senior lawyer.
Ex-AG breached multiple secrecy laws
Training his guns against Thomas, Puad said that AG Tan Sri Idrus Harun himself had alleged that the former’s memoir was in the contempt of Malaysia’s judicial system.
“Idrus had said that the book was written based on a shallow understanding of how the civil service functions, probably due to Thomas’ short-stint at the AG Chambers,” he said.
Puad added that it was also “puzzling” that former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had agreed to nominate Chief Justice, Court of Appeal president, Chief Justice of Malaya and other senior judges based on Thomas’ recommendation.
The former Batu Pahat MP said that Thomas had implied that top judicial appointments were done by bypassing the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC).
“And not the mention that many have claimed that the content of the book went against Section 26 of the Evidence Act 1950. He was also accused of breaching the Official Secrets Act.
“As the top legal adviser to the Government then, Thomas is bound by secrecy laws under Article 145 of the Federal Constitution,” Puad opined.
The former deputy minister added: “There were many controversies revealed by Thomas which needs to be probed.
“Therefore, I urge the Government to expedite the RCI to protect the image and integrity of our respected Judiciary.” – March 20, 2021.
