PM dances to strings of Umno puppet masters

 

It has to be one of the strangest occurrences in the history of a presumably democratic country - a prime minister, who came in through the back door without the support of voters, has instructed that a probe be made on a former attorney-general who wrote a book and who initiated prosecutions against prominent people.

Strangely, one of the long lists of things that authorities have been “instructed” to investigate former attorney-general Tommy Thomas by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob is abuse of power. But isn’t that exactly what Ismail Sabri is doing right there - abusing his power?

The investigations cover amongst others, the Sedition Act, Section 8 of the Official Secrets Act (OSA) for divulging secrets, Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act for abuse of power, and Sections 124I (disseminating false reports) and 203A (disclosing information) of the Penal Code.

Thomas, attorney-general from June 4, 2018 to Feb 28, 2020, was investigated by a special task force of the cabinet (how independent can you get!) for the book he wrote titled ‘My Story: Justice in the Wilderness’ launched in January last year.

In the wake of the book, numerous police reports were made against Thomas and predictably the police and others did launch investigations. Thomas was questioned by the police regarding the case then but the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) pressed no charges.

Umno, and its leaders, especially those who were charged when Thomas was AG, protested their “innocence” although one of them is already in jail, talking instead about trumped-up charges and accusing Thomas of bias.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob

No doubt, under political pressure from his own party Umno, Ismail Sabri succumbed and in October last year announced the formation of three task forces, one of which was to investigate allegations made in Thomas’ book. The task force reported its findings to the cabinet recently.

What is surprising is that Thomas had already been investigated by the police following over 100 police reports made against him, mostly by Umno members. What business did the PM have in reopening the investigation by appointing a cabinet task force? Was he dancing to the strings of his puppet masters in Umno?

That smacks not only of needless victimisation of the former highest legal officer in government but a direct and unwarranted interference in the administration of justice in the country.

Under the Constitution, the attorney-general (AG) has the sole power to decide on prosecution. For the PM to put pressure on bodies such as the AGC, the police and the MACC to reopen investigation is to overstep his limits and perhaps even break the law!

Although the PM makes the appointments for the heads of these bodies, he cannot interfere in their operations by appointing a cabinet committee to revisit cases which have already been investigated.

A cabinet task force controlled by an Umno PM cannot even begin to be independent in such an investigation. This looks more like an attempt to play to the gallery and to wrongly paint the picture to the Malays of an AG who was unfriendly to their leaders.

Unprecedented action

Such a case is unprecedented in the annals of Malaysian history. Here, archaic and oppressive laws used against terrorists, gangsters and hardcore criminals who cannot be nabbed legally are being used against a former AG for doing his rightful job in accordance with the law and the powers vested with him under the law.

The use of outdated, archaic laws such as the Sedition Act and the OSA is to be particularly lamented for it reflects an attempt to intimidate and threaten and has been used against opposition politicians previously when all else has failed.

Nothing that Thomas has said in the book discloses information so vital and crucial to the country that it endangers its security, and nothing that he has said has caused serious public alarm, again raising the spectre of intimidation by politicians of government officials.

What his book has done is raise serious debate about the administration of justice in the country and pressures that officers of the law and judiciary face. That is a welcome move in terms of moving the courts and the justice administration system forward to a fairer one, and one that is more competent.

For a vital, dynamic and progressive system of laws and rules to be put in place in a functioning democracy, public debate and reflection is necessary and that is what Thomas’ book does - it raises issues and suggests some solutions.

What a travesty of justice! This victimisation of a person who is doing his job honestly, competently, independently, courageously, and at great cost to himself - losing income he earned whilst in the private sector, and exposing himself to danger and actions such as this.

Unlike the current crop of corrupt to the core key Umno/BN politicians, and their domineering, uncaring, selfish, and incompetent ways, Thomas was a breath of fresh air cleaning away the musty, stale odours of past misdeeds and daring to do what needed to be done.

But Ismail Sabri can’t stop being a politician to misuse his power - the Umno genes are too deeply ingrained. He will go down in history as the person who attempted to influence the course of the administration of justice for the worse by not trying to bring crooks to the book but to threaten those who dare to do so.

No previous PM has attempted to try and prosecute a fair, competent and courageous AG. Not since Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s assault on the independent judiciary and the eventual removal of the lord president in 1988 has such an attack been made against the administration of justice.

If Ismail Sabri succeeds, the cost to the country will be enormous. A process which was started to bring the powerful, the corrupt and the rich who stole billions and lived fairytale lifestyles as the country was trying to reach developed status, may be stopped in its tracks.

Meantime, GE15 is supposed to be around the corner if Ismail Sabri does not have the “scrotal gumption”, to borrow Justice Mahadev Shankar’s famous phrase, to delay it to a more appropriate time next year and spare the rakyat the agony of floods and elections.

And if the elections do come, then the rakyat should exercise their prerogative and deny this backdoor, incompetent and corrupt government victory, thereby killing this latest assault on the administration of justice.

And with that, a whole litany of grievances too long to go into in this discussion. - Mkini

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P GUNASEGARAM, a former editor at online and print news publications, and head of equity research, is an independent writer and analyst.

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