Tommy Thomas, Penghinaan Kepada Institusi Peguam Negara

PERNAH duduk sepentas bersama bekas Peguam Negara Tommy Thomas dan bekas Speaker Dewan Rakyat Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof sewaktu awal penggal PH dahulu. Saya terima jemputan tersebut bukan hanya bagi membuktikan UMNO sedia bertukar pandangan dan berbahas dengan mereka, tetapi juga kerana menghormati institusi dan jawatan yang mereka pegang itu.

Jadi saya tertarik apabila sehari dua ini, timbul kontroversi berkenaan buku “memoir” yang ditulis Tommy Thomas (TT) bertajuk “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness”. Saya tertarik apa sebenarnya yang ditulis TT sehingga menjadi buah mulut ramai.

Cuma kalau hendak komen sesuatu, tentunya mesti baca dahulu. Setelah membaca buku tersebut, saya faham kenapa ia menjadi sensasi sampai ada yang buat laporan polis dan memulakan tindakan saman.

Jawatan Peguam Negara ini bukan jawatan kecil. Ia termaktub dalam Perlembagaan Perkara 145. Tentunya apabila menjadi Peguam Negara, waima setelah tamat tempoh perkhidmatan pun, wujud etika dan “decorum” yang sesuai dengan institusi tersebut. Tak boleh tulis sesuka hati seolah-olah mahu menjadi wartawan “insider”.

Tetapi tidak untuk TT. Habis semua dihina dan dipersalah. Baik “bos” dia PM7 yang melantiknya, baik PM6, sehinggakan PM2 pun tidak terlepas cemuhan.

Penulisan TT tentang Allahyarham Tun Razak amat mendukacitakan apatah lagi datang dari seorang bekas Peguam Negara.
Antara petikan yang ditulis berkenaan insiden 13 Mei, dimana beliau seakan-akan menunding jari ke Tun Razak.

“Why did Malay youths brandishing parangs..turn on their fellow citizens, the Chinese..on..May 13th, 1969? The evidence points to a coup by Tun Razak”

“(H)e was anxious to take over”.

“An open challenge by Tun Razak would have failed. The matter was compounded by a critical fact that Malaysians were not aware of. Tun Razak had been told he was suffering from leukaemia, and was given five to six years to live, a medical prognosis that turned out to be accurate”

“(W)ho benefitted from the riots? – it was Tun Razak”

Dalam satu muka surat sahaja (m/s 28), TT tanpa berselindung mendakwa bahawa Tun Razak mendalangi insiden paling hitam dalam sejarah negara Malaysia.

Pertama,
“Evidence points to a coup by Tun Razak”
Evidence (bukti) apa? Yang menulis ini adalah bekas Peguam Negara. Bukan pengarang surat layang. Bukti apa yang dia ada sehingga tergamak menerbitkan suatu tuduhan yang amat jelas dan nyata terhadap Bapa Pembangunan Malaysia – yang mana individu itu pun tidak ada bersama kita lagi untuk menepis dakwaan tersebut.

Kedua dan lebih hina,
TT menggambarkan seolah-olah Tun Razak tergamak buat apa yang didakwa TT di atas, kononnya kerana Tun Razak tak sabar untuk ambil alih jawatan Perdana Menteri disebabkan beliau menghidap leukemia.

Ini penghinaan yang teramat serius – yang merendahkan keperibadian seorang bekas pemimpin negara.

Berasaskan apa? Bukan berasaskan bukti, tetapi “conjecture” dan prejudis yang tebal.

Ketiga,
Insiden 13 Mei ini detik hitam, yang masih menjadi perkara sensitif – harus ditulis dan dirujuk dengan penuh bertanggungjawab, apatah lagi selaku seorang bekas Peguam Negara.

Bila menulis “why did Malay youths brandishing parangs..turn on Chinese..”, adakah itu bertanggungjawab? Adakah itu cara seorang yang kononnya mementingkan keharmonian antara kaum pada tahun 2021? Begitu mudah menyingkap insiden 1969 dengan bahasa dan penulisan yang sebegitu mudah dan simplistik menunding jari kepada satu pihak?

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Ini belum lagi menyentuh apa yang ditulis dan cuba disampaikan berkenaan pembunuhan Altantuya – yang mana Dato’ Sri Najib telah mengemukakan surat tuntutan.

Belum lagi menyentuh apa ditulis berkenaan pegawai Pejabat Peguam Negara yang pada pandangan saya disifatkan TT sebagai peguam-peguam tidak berdaya maju dan selesa makan gaji dan pencen – “lawyers who lack the drive to excel”

Petikan:
“I realised that lawyers from the AG’s Chambers (AGC) acting for the government did not have the same commitment, passion and drive to succeed as their counterparts in the Bar”

“They are civil servants earning fixed incomes and awaiting pension upon retirement. There was no incentive to distinguish themselves”

Ini belum lagi menyentuh apa yang ditulis berkenaan UMNO, dimana TT bukan sekadar mengkritik individu tetapi mencemuh seluruh institusi UMNO itu sendiri berkali-kali dalam bukunya.

Belum lagi menyentuh rahsia yang dibongkar dan ditelanjangkan dengan tafsiran-tafsiran peribadi tertentu. Hubungan Tun Mahathir dan Anwar Ibrahim, soal perjumpaan dalam Istana Negara, soal perbualan antara TT dan Tun Mahathir sewaktu menjadi Perdana Menteri interim – semua yang patut menjadi sulit diceritakan terbuka. Inikah “standard” bekas Peguam Negara?

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Saya membayangkan TT akan mengatakan apa yang ditulis adalah pandangan dia. Mungkin dia berpandangan bahawa dia ada hak kritik dan hina sesiapa sahaja, baik yang hidup atau yang sudah meninggal dunia.

Benar, ada pandangan yang bebas dikemukakan oleh sesiapa. Seperti posting ini – pandangan saya berdasarkan apa yang ditulis oleh TT. Bukan berdasarkan khabar angin atau prejudis.

Tetapi TT patut tahu, ada perkongsian yang mengundang tindakan bawah sistem perundangan. Dan ada pandangan yang kalau tak menyalahi undang-undang pun, amat tak sesuai datang dari seorang bekas Peguam Negara.

Saman dan laporan polis – sama ada soal saman malu, pelanggaran Akta Rahsia Rasmi (OSA), jenayah fitnah atau apa sahaja yang ditentukan kelak oleh proses perundangan – tetap akan berjalan.

Sambil ia berjalan, saya pula beri pandangan kepada Tommy Thomas:

Satu perkara hampir pasti. Dengan buku anda, anda bukan hanya telah menghina ramai pihak, tetapi menghina institusi Peguam Negara yang anda sendiri pegang suatu ketika dahulu.

Jangankan mahu menutup kegagalan sewaktu jadi Peguam Negara, mungkin buku ini juga antara kegagalan paling besar anda sehingga saat ini.

Shahril Hamdan
Ketua Penerangan UMNO Malaysia
3 Feb 2021

Tommy Thomas, a disgrace to AG institution

I USED to sit side by side with former Attorney General Tommy Thomas and former Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof during PH early term. I accepted the invitation not only to prove that UMNO is ready to exchange views and debate with them, but also over my respect for the institutions and positions they held.
In that regards, I was interested when this day or two there was a controversy regarding the memoir written by Tommy Thomas (TT) entitled “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness”, what he actually wrote that it became the talk of the town.
To comment on anything, of course you must read it first. After reading it, I understood why it became a sensation until someone lodged a police report and started a lawsuit.
Attorney General is not a small position. It is stipulated under Article 145 of the Federal Constitution. Of course when becoming the an Attorney General, even after the expiration of the term of service, there is an ethics and “decorum” he must follow. Can’t write freely as if you want to be an “insider” journalist.
But not for TT. Full of insult and slander. The Big Boss PM7 who appointed him, the good PM6 and even PM2 were not spared from his ridicule.
TT’s writing about the late Tun Razak is very sad, moreover it comes from a former Attorney General. Among the quotes on May 13 incident, he blindly points a finger at Tun Razak.
“Why did Malay youths brandishing parangs..turn on their fellow citizens, the Chinese..on..May 13th, 1969? The evidence points to a coup by Tun Razak “… “He was anxious to take over”… “An open challenge by Tun Razak would have failed. The matter was compounded by a critical fact that Malaysians were not aware of. Tun Razak had been told he was suffering from leukemia, and was given five to six years to live, a medical prognosis that turned out to be accurate ”… “(W)ho benefitted from the riots? – it was Tun Razak ”
In one page only (p. 28), TT unabashedly claimed that Tun Razak orchestrated the darkest incident in the history of Malaysia.
First,
“Evidence points to a coup by Tun Razak”
What evidence? The author is the former Attorney General, not the author of a poison pen letter.  What evidence has he got to publish a very clear and obvious accusation against the Father of Malaysian Development – which the individual is no longer with us to refute the allegations.
Second and more contemptible,
TT described as if Tun Razak was reluctant to do what TT claimed above, allegedly because Tun Razak could not wait to take over as Prime Minister because he had leukemia. This is a very serious insult – which degrades the personality of a former national leader.
Based on what? Not based on evidence, but “conjecture” and prejudice mind.
Third,
The May 13 incident is a black moment which is still a sensitive matter – should be written and referred to responsibly, let alone as a former Attorney General.
When writing “why did Malay youths brandishing parangs..turn on Chinese ..”, is that responsible? Is that the way a person supposedly cares about racial harmony in 2021? How easy is it to reveal the 1969 incident with such simple and simplistic language and writing pointing fingers at one party?
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This has yet to include Altantuya’s murder – for which Dato’ Sri Najib had submitted a letter of demand. Not to mention what was written about the Attorney General’s Office officer who in my view TT is a lawyer who is not qualified getting salaries and pensions. He doesn’t deserve it!
Excerpt:
“I realized that lawyers from the AG’s Chambers (AGC) acting for the government did not have the same commitment, passion and drive to succeed as their counterparts in the Bar”
“They are civil servants earning fixed incomes and awaiting pension upon retirement. There was no incentive to distinguish themselves ”
On UMNO, TT is not just criticizing individuals but mocking the entire UMNO institution itself many times in his book.
Not to mention his take on secrets he unraveled and stripping down certain personal. The relationship between Tun Mahathir and Anwar Ibrahim, the meeting in Istana Negara, the conversation between TT and Tun Mahathir during his interim Prime Minister – all that should be difficult to tell openly. Is this the “standard” of the a former Attorney General?
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I would like to imagine that TT has his own view. Perhaps he is of the view that he has the right to criticize and despise anyone, whether living or dead. True, there is a freedom to that. Like this post – my point of view is based on what TT wrote, not based on rumors or prejudice.
But TT should know, there are partnerships that summons action under the legal system. And there is a view that even if it is not illegal, it is very inappropriate as it came from a former Attorney General.
Police summonses and reports – whether it is a matter of embarrassment, over violations of the Official Secrets Act (OSA), defamation crimes or anything else determined by the legal process – will continue.
As it goes, this is my take on Tommy Thomas:
One thing for sure. With your book, you have not only insulted many parties but insulted the institution of the Attorney General that you yourself once held. You are a disgrace!
Don’t try to cover up the failure while being the Attorney General, maybe this book is also one of your biggest failures and blunders to date.
SHAHRIL HAMDAN
UMNO Malaysia Information Chief
3 Feb 2021
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