Thomas ‘pre-judged’ Najib before he became AG, lawyer tells court
A lawyer for Najib Razak says Tommy Thomas also interfered with investigations relating to 1MDB cases.
KUALA LUMPUR: Lawyers for Najib Razak have insisted that former attorney-general (AG) Tommy Thomas had a “pre-judged” mindset against him for more than 10 years.
In his submission, Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin claimed that Thomas had “pre-planned” the charges brought against Najib even before taking over as AG in 2018.
“We are complaining about (Thomas’) conduct as AG – not the officers in the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC). We believe he abused his position in office.
“He should step aside in (all) cases involving 1MDB,” he added.
Najib filed the suit against Thomas last year, claiming that the 1MDB-related charges against him were “part of a long-planned, pre-meditated exercise”.
He alleged that Thomas, who was AG from June 4, 2018 to Feb 28, 2020, carried out his duties “in line with the plans” of the then Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.
Najib is seeking RM1.94 million in damages.
However, Thomas filed a bid to quash the lawsuit, claiming the case was filed “for use in the campaign leading up to the Melaka state elections and the next general election”.
Besides that, Firoz told the court Thomas had “interfered” with investigations relating to 1MDB cases.
He said Thomas mentioned in his book entitled “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness” that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had told him Najib had not committed any wrongdoing.
“However, (Thomas) proceeded to charge my client,” he said, claiming that former Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram was brought in to conduct the prosecution and investigation.
Judge Ahmad Bache corrected the lawyer, saying that Sri Ram was given a fiat to act as a senior deputy public prosecutor for the cases and was not part of the investigating team.
Irked by Firoz’s argument, lawyer Alan Gomez, appearing for Thomas, objected.
“They are relitigating a (previous court) decision on Sri Ram’s appointment.
“This shows that they have a poor case,” he said.
In response, Firoz clarified that he was not challenging Sri Ram’s appointment but was merely complaining that Thomas’ actions had interfered with investigations.
The court will continue to hear Thomas’ bid to strike out Najib’s lawsuit on Oct 21.
KUALA LUMPUR: Lawyers for Najib Razak have insisted that former attorney-general (AG) Tommy Thomas had a “pre-judged” mindset against him for more than 10 years.
In his submission, Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin claimed that Thomas had “pre-planned” the charges brought against Najib even before taking over as AG in 2018.
“We are complaining about (Thomas’) conduct as AG – not the officers in the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC). We believe he abused his position in office.
“He should step aside in (all) cases involving 1MDB,” he added.
Najib filed the suit against Thomas last year, claiming that the 1MDB-related charges against him were “part of a long-planned, pre-meditated exercise”.
He alleged that Thomas, who was AG from June 4, 2018 to Feb 28, 2020, carried out his duties “in line with the plans” of the then Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.
Najib is seeking RM1.94 million in damages.
However, Thomas filed a bid to quash the lawsuit, claiming the case was filed “for use in the campaign leading up to the Melaka state elections and the next general election”.
Besides that, Firoz told the court Thomas had “interfered” with investigations relating to 1MDB cases.
He said Thomas mentioned in his book entitled “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness” that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had told him Najib had not committed any wrongdoing.
“However, (Thomas) proceeded to charge my client,” he said, claiming that former Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram was brought in to conduct the prosecution and investigation.
Judge Ahmad Bache corrected the lawyer, saying that Sri Ram was given a fiat to act as a senior deputy public prosecutor for the cases and was not part of the investigating team.
Irked by Firoz’s argument, lawyer Alan Gomez, appearing for Thomas, objected.
“They are relitigating a (previous court) decision on Sri Ram’s appointment.
“This shows that they have a poor case,” he said.
In response, Firoz clarified that he was not challenging Sri Ram’s appointment but was merely complaining that Thomas’ actions had interfered with investigations.
The court will continue to hear Thomas’ bid to strike out Najib’s lawsuit on Oct 21.
So what if Tommy Thomas had a strong objective to get Najib charged ?
ReplyDeleteHe's not the judge. The MACC and Police generated much of the evidence against Najib, and the Prosecutor's conducted the case.
Najib has already been found guilty in the SRC case.
Amazing that this Evil man was actually Prime Minister of Malaysia for 10 years.
ReplyDelete