Cabinet agrees on RCI into Thomas’ memoir
Former attorney-general Tommy Thomas’ book, My Story: Justice in the Wilderness, was published in January 2021.
PETALING JAYA: The Cabinet has agreed to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to look into the claims in former attorney-general (AG) Tommy Thomas’ controversial memoir.
In a statement, law minister Azalina Othman Said stressed that the RCI is aimed at finding out the truth and submitting recommendations to the government to reform the country’s legal institutions.
She added that the RCI was also not aimed at finding fault with any particular party.
Azalina said the RCI’s terms of commission will have a wider scope and will not be limited to the recommendations that had been submitted by the special task force formed to look into the allegations in Thomas’ book.
The task force had initially identified 19 issues. These issues were then narrowed down to four main categories – allegations levelled against the judiciary, exposing government secrets, abuse of power and professional negligence, and seditious statements.
Azalina stressed that the government takes a serious view of the allegations of misconduct by a bearer of high office.
“This is because transparency and accountability are the basis of people’s trust in the administration of justice and government institutions,” she said.
Thomas’ book was published in January 2021 and drew criticism from multiple quarters, including current Attorney-General Idrus Harun, lawyers, politicians and the general public, leading to the filing of numerous police reports.
Among others, Thomas claimed in his book that he had discussions with former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, when both were in office, on the appointments of the chief judge, the president of the Court of Appeal and the chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak.
Last October, police said it was completing an investigation into Thomas for alleged sedition and other suspected offences related to the allegations in his memoir.
Apart from the sedition allegations, Thomas is also under investigation for supposedly publishing official secrets, abuse of power, making false statements and disclosure of information.
PETALING JAYA: The Cabinet has agreed to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to look into the claims in former attorney-general (AG) Tommy Thomas’ controversial memoir.
In a statement, law minister Azalina Othman Said stressed that the RCI is aimed at finding out the truth and submitting recommendations to the government to reform the country’s legal institutions.
She added that the RCI was also not aimed at finding fault with any particular party.
Azalina said the RCI’s terms of commission will have a wider scope and will not be limited to the recommendations that had been submitted by the special task force formed to look into the allegations in Thomas’ book.
The task force had initially identified 19 issues. These issues were then narrowed down to four main categories – allegations levelled against the judiciary, exposing government secrets, abuse of power and professional negligence, and seditious statements.
Azalina stressed that the government takes a serious view of the allegations of misconduct by a bearer of high office.
“This is because transparency and accountability are the basis of people’s trust in the administration of justice and government institutions,” she said.
Thomas’ book was published in January 2021 and drew criticism from multiple quarters, including current Attorney-General Idrus Harun, lawyers, politicians and the general public, leading to the filing of numerous police reports.
Among others, Thomas claimed in his book that he had discussions with former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, when both were in office, on the appointments of the chief judge, the president of the Court of Appeal and the chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak.
Last October, police said it was completing an investigation into Thomas for alleged sedition and other suspected offences related to the allegations in his memoir.
Apart from the sedition allegations, Thomas is also under investigation for supposedly publishing official secrets, abuse of power, making false statements and disclosure of information.
Thomas had filed a suit in October against the task force and the government, alleging that the publication of the task force’s report was a breach of law and his constitutional rights.
In the suit, he wanted a declaration that the task force was an unlawful body and had no legal authority to perform the function assigned to it by the government.
Last month, the government and the special task force asked the High Court to annul the lawsuit, which they said was scandalous, frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of the court’s process.
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