Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said while he may be open to criticism, Tommy Thomas also needs to look in the mirror as he had made unwise comments during his tenure as the attorney-general as well as in his highly contentious book “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness”.
Anwar was responding to Thomas (above) who had previously said Anwar should look in the mirror and ask himself why he has yet to become prime minister.
“Thomas should also look in the mirror because when he was carrying out his duties (as attorney-general) and in his book, there are heavy racial elements, elements of insulting the capabilities of civil servants, including those in the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).
“That is a problem of over-generalisation. Surely there is someone capable from among the thousands (of civil servants). This is a colonial view that we reject,” Anwar said to reporters after attending the International Book Fair at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur today.
He said Thomas had also “attacked” former prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein without any evidence.
While he did not elaborate, it is believed he is referring to a section from Thomas’ book where the former attorney-general appears to have implicated Razak in the riots of May 13, 1969.
Thomas had also commented on an ongoing court case while he was still the attorney-general, Anwar said.
“So, there is a lack of wisdom that requires him to look in the mirror. If he talks about why Anwar should look (in the mirror), I am okay, I am fair, I can listen to criticism.
“If he suggests the fact that Anwar has not been successful (in becoming) a prime minister, I can tell him I would have been prime minister if I compromised.
“Yes to corruption, yes to the interference of the courts, then I will be prime minister. Nobody can dispute that, but I refused.
“Is that a failure, or to my mind, a principled stance?” questioned Anwar.
Previously, Thomas reportedly said Anwar should self-reflect as to why the prime ministership keeps passing him by.
Discretion given to judges
On a separate matter, Anwar has said he supports the abolition of the mandatory death penalty, as it gives the judges’ the discretion to decide on the punishment as opposed to being mandated to sentence convicts to death.
“The term is mandatory, which means instead of giving no options to judges, we adduce facts and evidence to the judges and the judges must adjudicate fairly, so that is the difference.
“I support it because the current laws force the judges to sentence without any choice but with this amendment, it gives the judges space to examine the facts, the laws and the evidence in order to come up with the sentence,” he said.
The government had announced on June 10 that they agreed to abolish the mandatory death penalty and will substitute it with other types of punishment that would be decided by the court.
However, it was later clarified that no date has been set for the abolition of the mandatory death penalty. - Mkini
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