Two Sabah deputy chief ministers and several others have reportedly filed a suit against former attorney-general Tommy Thomas for allegedly mishandling a claim on the state’s territory by descendants of the Sulu sultanate.
According to the report by Free Malaysia Today, they are seeking the court’s declaration that Thomas (above) has committed misfeasance in public office over the matter in his capacity as the federal government’s legal advisor between June 2018 and February 2020.
The suit was filed at the Kota Kinabalu High Court on Aug 16 and the papers were served on Thomas at his law firm in Kuala Lumpur earlier this month, the news portal reported today citing the statement of claim.
“The plaintiffs want an injunction for Thomas to withdraw prejudicial statements and restrain him from making public remarks in relation to an arbitration award issued by Spanish arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa,” the report stated.
They also reportedly demanded Thomas to pay US$14.92 billion (RM69.35 billion) for the result of his action or inaction on the Sulu sultanate descendants’ claims – the same amount that Stampa had awarded the alleged descendants.
The nine plaintiffs in the case are Sabah deputy chief ministers, Jeffrey Kitingan and Joachim Gunsalam, Sabah ministers Jahid Jahim and Ellron Angin, and state assistant ministers Joniston Bangkuai, Abidin Madingkir, Robert Tawfik, Julita Mojungki and Flovia Ng.
They argued that Thomas has failed to respond to notices by Stampa to attend proceedings and defend Malaysia’s position, resulting in an award being issued by default to the alleged descendants.
They also said the former attorney-general’s subsequent media statements on the issue are damaging to Malaysia’s legal challenges against the award.
On Sept 19, 2019, Thomas was said to have written a letter to the descendants’ lawyer Paul Cohen saying it was regrettable that the annual RM5,300 annual payment to the Sulu heirs had been stopped since 2013, but that Malaysia was “able and willing” to pay the arrears.
The plaintiffs reportedly contended the letter is flawed and prejudicial to Malaysia’s interests and was issued without proper consultation nor approval of the cabinet.
Thomas has committed the tort of misfeasance in public office by failing to participate in or stop the arbitration proceedings and issuing the letter to Cohen, they reportedly argued. - Mkini
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