Malay government has failed, says ex-AG Thomas

Former attorney-general Tommy Thomas has hit out at the two administrations that followed the collapse of Pakatan Harapan (PH) in 2020, saying they symbolise the failure of Malay-dominated governments.

Speaking at a recent forum in Kuala Lumpur, Thomas said the current government was an illustration of “Malay ketuanan (lordship)”.

The last two and a half years, you have had a Cabinet that is absolutely dominated by the Malays.

“Two and a half years later, you have objective grounds to ask the question: Is a Malay government more efficient and better?

“Are you kidding? They have just done such a bad job in governance,” Thomas told an audience of about 100 at a forum titled “Dark Forces Towards GE15” at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on Saturday.

DAP’s Gelang Patah MP Lim Kit Siang and former Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan also spoke at the event.

Thomas, who served as attorney-general for some 20 months during PH’s rule, said he believed the Malays themselves would agree with his statement.

“The Malay government has failed,” he said, adding that this was a narrative that oppostion forces should promote in the coming general election.

The PH government became embroiled in the question of succession for the top office, and collapsed soon after the resignation of Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Component partner Bersatu later quit the coalition.

In March 2020, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin, backed by MPs from Barisan Nasional, PAS and GPS, formed the Perikatan Nasional government. Muhyiddin ruled for 17 months before resigning after several Umno MPs aligned with former leader Najib Razak revoked their support for him.

He was replaced by Umno’s Ismail Sabri Yaakob in August last year.

Thomas said both governments were “totally engulfed in corrupt activities”, adding that making corruption the central election theme for the opposition would help it return to power.

He expressed confidence that PH would return to power at the next general election if there was a good turnout.

“If you can get 60% of them (young voters) and 80% of the national average, I assure you there will be a repeat in GE15 and we will have a new government.”