Govt ‘abused’ machinery by probing ex-AG Thomas over memoir, court hears
Govt ‘abused’ machinery by probing ex-AG Thomas over memoir, court hears
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court will rule on Aug 8 whether a lawsuit brought by former attorney-general Tommy Thomas against the government and a task force set up to investigate statements made in his memoir ought to be struck out on grounds that it is “frivolous” and “vexatious”.
Lawyer Mervyn Lai, who represented Thomas, said the government, then led by former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, had “abused” its machinery by ordering the investigation.
He said the investigation was designed to “vilify” Thomas as part of a “political attack” on the Pakatan Harapan administration, which had appointed him to the post.
Thomas resigned in February 2020 after the PH government was dissolved.
In 2021, he published his memoir, “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness”, detailing his early life, his experiences as a legal practitioner, and his stint as attorney-general between June 2018 and February 2020.
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The task force consisting of eight members was set up by Ismail’s Cabinet in October 2021 to investigate whether statements in the book were seditious, had exposed government secrets, or revealed any abuse of power or professional negligence on his part.
It concluded that Thomas allegedly had “powerful vested interests” in the appointment of judges, and that he had attempted to use “political or executive influence” to ensure that certain appointments were carried through.
“After the task force’s report was presented to the Cabinet in September last year, the prime minister (Ismail) instructed government agencies to investigate the plaintiff (Thomas).
“A few days later, the report was made available on the website of the legal affairs department of the Prime Minister’s Office.
“The prime minister also said during his election campaign that the report could be used as ‘political bullets’,” he said.
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Lai said Thomas was entitled to seek a declaration by the court that the task force had no power to investigate him and that the published findings breached his constitutional rights.
“This lawsuit should not be struck out,” he told Justice Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh.
Senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan, who appeared for the government and the task force members, said Thomas never claimed in his court documents that the task force’s investigation amounted to a “political attack”.
“His main complaint was that this task force was not set up in accordance with the law,” he said.
Shamsul said there was nothing illegal about the formation of the task force.
He said the task force only embarked on preliminary fact-finding, and that its findings were not binding on the government.
Shamsul said the government had regularly set up task forces in the past, and referred to one which investigated the police shooting of a teenager during a car chase as an example.
The hearing continues.
Govt ‘abused’ machinery by probing ex-AG Thomas over memoir, court hears
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