Report: Thomas says becoming AG showed him Malaysian politics ‘worse’ than he thought

 

Tan Sri said he was 'conscious' of his role to advise the government. — Picture by Hari Anggara

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 — Former attorney general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas said holding the highest legal office in the country had exposed him to the true nature of Malaysian politicians.

He made the remarks in a legal podcast that was reported by The Edge.

Thomas said he shunned political discussions with members of the Pakatan Harapan administration at the time despite his personal interest in the subject and his Masters Degree in International Relations.

“It was much more worse than I thought, politicians have their own code.

“I am conscious of my role to advise the government. I hardly talked about politics with them (Cabinet members) although I had known them previously,” he was quoted as saying in the podcast.

Thomas said he had gone into the role with an eye on reform, and that he would have tabled a law to impose a term limit to the prime minister’s position in June were he still the AG.

He lauded former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman for pushing ahead with lowering the voting age, which was achieved via a constitutional amendment.

Thomas, who among the legal fraternity is known as a constitutional and commercial barrister,  added he supported separating the role of government legal adviser from that of the public prosecutor but had not been involved in this proposal.

Aside from reforms, he said his other missions at the time were to deal with all 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) matters and correct lopsided contracts from the Barisan Nasional era.

Thomas said he has been “lazy doing nothing” since resigning as the AG in February and was working on his third book. - malaymail