THE sabre-rattling and threats to ban it, and the raft of police reports made against it appear to whet the appetite of Malaysians for Tommy Thomas’ controversial memoir.
On Amazon, the kindle-edition of “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness” has jumped to the top spot in the category of new releases on biographies of lawyers and judges, inching ahead of United States vice president Kamala Harris’ biography.
The first 242-page revelatory biography of the first Black woman to be elected vice president of the United States, “Kamala’s Way”, was released on January 12 this year.
Thomas’ candid memoir was released on January 30, already becoming a major bestseller in Malaysia with the publisher going into a third print.
The book’s publisher, Chong Ton Sin from GB Gerakbudaya Enterprise, had said copies of the book were flying off the shelves after a news report that the government may ban it following the uproar it has caused.
It had been reported that the Home Ministry was mulling a ban on the book for breaching the Official Secrets Act 1972 (OSA).
The ministry is said to be liaising with the Attorney-General’s Chambers regarding several controversial chapters of the memoir.
The book has ruffled a few feathers after numerous figures named in it, like former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former attorney-general Apandi Ali and former prime minister Najib Razak, disputed Thomas’ version of certain events.
Among the issues Thomas discussed in the books were the prosecution of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) case, the troubles he had faced in the A-G’s Chambers, and his controversial appointment.
He also allegedly claimed Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was nominated as interim prime minister by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong instead of Dr Mahathir, after Pakatan Harapan collapsed in February last year. This was disputed by Dr Mahathir.
Police reports have been lodged against Thomas, including by Apandi who has accused Thomas of slandering him.
Apandi also alleged Thomas divulged national secrets in the book, purportedly violating Section 8 of the OSA and Section 203A of the Penal Code.
Former solicitor-general Mohamad Hanafiah Zakaria has also lodged a police report against Thomas for tarnishing his reputation as “incapable” of prosecuting Najib for corruption in the SRC International Bhd case.
Najib is also set to sue Thomas over a statement in his book which the former says implicated him in the murder of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu.
Najib’s lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah confirmed the action would be brought against Thomas.
“Yes, we are suing him. Yesterday, Thomas had replied to our letter of demand… he said that he did not defame our client.
“The publisher GB Gerakbudaya Enterprise Sdn Bhd has not replied to our letter. We are going to file a defamation suit against both Thomas and the publisher as soon as possible,” said Shafee yesterday.
THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT
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