Thomas spent RM3.5mil on external lawyers including former partner, says declassified report

 

PETALING JAYA: Former attorney general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas spent about RM3.5mil of public money to appoint external lawyers, including his former partner, on behalf of the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC), says the recently declassified special task force report on the former AG's book.

It also stated that while Thomas had the right to procure external lawyers for the AGC, this sidelined Deputy Public Prosecutors who could have worked on those cases.

The report added that the reasons for appointing the external lawyers were also not addressed by Thomas.

Throughout his tenure, the former AG appointed 23 external lawyers.

“The amount spent on external lawyers during his tenure as AG amounted to RM3,534,892.20,” said the report.

The claims were all approved by Thomas as the Controlling Officer.

“Although Thomas complied with government regulations in the appointment of external lawyers, the question of the need to appoint external lawyers was never answered,” stated the report.

One such case was the appointment of his former partner Ganesan Nethi to the Goldman Sachs case, where the special task force was of the view that there appeared to be a conflict of interest.

The report stated that Thomas appointed Ganesan for the Goldman Sachs case for his expertise but the details surrounding the appointment and payment, if at all, called for an investigation, as Ganesan is alleged to have possibly benefitted by way “of intangible gratuity”.

“The special task force, accordingly, cannot confirm that the appointment of Ganesan, Thomas’ former partner, was made in a transparent manner,” the report said.

The special task force then proposed that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission investigate Ganesan's appointment to see if there was conflict of interest.

Another case was the appointment of Raj Navaratnam and Lim Cheng Bock in the Suria Strategic Energy Resources Sdn Bhd (SSER) case.

"Thomas only mentioned that the appointment of external lawyers in the SSER case was because Raj Navaratnam is an international arbitration and dispute specialist while Lim Cheng Bock is a commercial solicitor of vast experience and expertise,” said the report.

The special task force also said that Thomas had overstepped his authority in Malaysia's legal challenge against the European Union's discriminating regulations against Malaysian palm oil.

The report said the then AG had sidelined the Primary Industries Ministry and failed to take into account advice from its civil servants.

“....Thomas decided to prepare for the EU case differently. Essentially, with little or no input from the ministry and its statutory bodies,” the special task force report alleges.

Thomas is alleged to have appointed five lawyers from the Malaysian Bar who did not have any experience in dealing with either EU laws or taking any legal challenge to the WTO. The five had also not been involved in any consultation process under the EU.

In doing so, Thomas either sidelined or dismissed the firm of lawyers in Brussels, Belgium, that had been appointed by the Ministry.

He further appointed Queen’s Counsel Toby Landau to the case, despite stating earlier that “the exorbitant costs of foreign lawyers’ charges are a relevant factor”.

Thomas defended his appointment of the five local lawyers against the foreign firm appointed by the Ministry by saying “one is not convinced with their loyalty to the national cause”.

Landau, according to the special task force report, had no track record of handling trade dispute settlements at the WTO.

“All the external lawyers appointed by Thomas ceased to act for Malaysia once he resigned as AG and the fees incurred in hiring them were a waste of public funds especially as the work or opinion did not appear to be useful in the eventual submission of Malaysia’s case to the WTO,” the report stated.

The special task force was put together by the government to check on allegations made by Thomas in his memoir titled "My Story: Justice In The Wilderness”.

The special task force was chaired by Sarawak legal adviser and former state attorney general Datuk Seri Fong Joo Chung, and had seven other members appointed for their expertise on various matters.

The declassified report by the task force was published on Oct 21 on the website of the Legal Affairs Division under the Prime Minister's Department.

Published last year, Thomas’ memoir was criticised by various quarters including the current Attorney General's Chambers and some politicians for allegedly containing elements of incitement, insults and defamation. - Star