Ketuanan state is persecuting Tommy Thomas

 

"This is absolutely shocking because MACC was continuing with the lie after the truth had been pointed out to them.”

– Tommy Thomas

The quote that opens this piece is a public statement by former attorney-general Tommy Thomas two years ago, as a rebuttal against a lie made by the MACC that the plea bargain between the prosecution and movie producer Riza Abdul Aziz was achieved during Thomas' stint as AG.

Thomas said: "To compound matters, after I corrected MACC’s false statement on the evening of May 14, MACC responded by stating that they stood by their first statement.”

What does it say of the MACC when a former AG accuses a public body of lying, and the head of the MACC merely says that if the former AG wants to deny, that’s up to him?

What kind of banana republic is this? It is as if everyone has dropped the pretence of professionalism and independence. It is as if everyone associated with this regime has decided that, like former US president Donald Trump, they can put out any lie and merely shrug it off as business as usual.

And now the ketuanan state is attempting to build a case against the former AG.

The prime minister of this make-believe government, himself beholden to various disparate power groups within his own administration, has set the state security apparatus on the former AG about revelations in a book which the Home Ministry has not banned.

If the contents of the book are indeed “seditious” (which basically means anything that offends us), contains official secrets (anything we do not want you to know ), abuse of power (really?) and disseminating false information (this is only allowed when you are demonising the DAP), should not this book have been banned ab initio and the state security apparatus taken Thomas in a Black Maria to some undisclosed location?

Instead, the ketuanan state allowed the book to be on the bestseller list. Allowed numerous aggrieved personalities to lodge police reports.

It was content to allow political operatives who were under criminal cases to use the book as a political defence and talking point. It convened a special task force to pour over the book. And then decided the author should be investigated.

And mind you, it is not as if the book did not court controversy. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim did a review of the book and felt obliged to correct Thomas on his belief that on May 13 “the evidence points to a coup by Tun Razak”.

Anwar wrote: “Thomas asserts that there is evidence for his claim but the only evidence that is adduced here is purely conjectural and such recklessness is bordering on conspiracy theory, a realm we must all tread lightly on in these times of fake news and hyperbolic gossip.”

Anti-Malay narrative

And of course, there was the whole Thomas is anti-Malay narrative. Even Anwar mined this narrative in his review of Thomas’s book.

When Thomas was the AG, the biggest question from his critics was whether he would be able to “defend” Malay rights and privileges like any other Malay AG would.

Only in Malaysia, if you are a non-Malay, would you be asked to defend racial policies and if you said that you believed all Malaysians are equal you would be considered “anti-Malay” or "racist".

The prime minister of this Malay uber alles shindig, who inherited his position by a coup by the very same people who were charged and convicted, decided that the state security apparatus needs to investigate the person who put away one of the biggest kleptocrats this region has ever seen.

Look, I get it. You needed these experts to pour over this book because using legalese you could theoretically find evidence of everything they want to charge Thomas with.

Of course, you could find such evidence in nearly every book published by former prime ministers, civil servants and state security personnel.

Furthermore, everything Thomas said in his book is collaborated by other books from personalities ranging from politicians to retired armed forces personnel.

All of these point to a dysfunctional system populated by unsavoury politically connected characters, subverting the system at the expense of the rakyat.

The real reason why they are going after Thomas is that the state needs a convenient scapegoat for their failures. This Malay uber alles government has failed.

Maybe they did not like Thomas pointing that out – and truth be told, Pakatan Harapan should not campaign on this point – but somebody needs to be a target and why not the man who brought down the beloved Bossku?

This is what the Bossku base wants, right? It doesn’t really matter that these charges have nothing directly to do with the conviction and jailing of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, but what it gives supporters is a talking point of how Harapan destroyed a noble leader using the court system.

This is after all, what Najib claimed.

So yes, go ahead and carry on with this sham investigation and most probably a farcical case against the former AG.

Ultimately the only people who will pay are the average Joe rakyat regardless of race and creed because the system coming after Thomas only cares for the elites.

This remains the state of play. - Mkini

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S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.