PETALING JAYA: Former chief justice Abdul Hamid Mohamad has questioned Attorney-General Tommy Thomas’s move to appoint lawyer Sulaiman Abdullah and former judge Gopal Sri Ram as prosecutors in Najib Razak’s trial, saying it was unprecedented in Malaysia’s legal history.
“Is he chickening out because he has no experience in prosecution? This case is certainly not the kind of case for anyone to learn to prosecute,” Hamid asked in an article on his blog.
Najib is facing charges of criminal breach of trust in connection with the transfer of RM42 million to his private bank account from SRC International, a former 1MDB subsidiary.
On Aug 31, Thomas appointed Sulaiman to lead the prosecution.
But Hamid said the move was a “first”, saying it was an admission by Thomas that he could not cope with the demands of his position as the AG.
Saying Sulaiman’s health might not allow him to “withstand the pressure of a prolonged trial”, Hamid also questioned the former Bar president’s qualification to lead a high profile criminal case.
“He still lacks experience in leading evidence for the prosecution in a criminal trial.”
Hamid said Thomas had eight months to prepare for the case, unlike deputy public prosecutors who normally would not get a month to prepare.
Hamid also took Thomas to task for appointing Sri Ram, a former Federal Court judge, as a DPP to study and give advice on 1MDB investigation papers.
He said the AG himself should study the papers, assisted by his officers, as the case was important.
“Even if he does not, his officers who have spent a decade or more doing the same job, could be relied on instead of appointing someone from outside, who has not even seen investigation papers all his life.”
Hamid said Thomas has demoralised “the whole Attorney-General’s Chambers”.
“It is as if he has no confidence in his officers who had been doing the work for decades. It is as if they are incompetent,” he added. - FMT
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