Judge To Rule On Thomas S Suit Against Govt Task Force On Oct 2

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Tommy Thomas claims that a task force set up by the government to investigate statements in his memoir had defamed him in its report.KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court will rule on Oct 2 in a case brought by former attorney-general Tommy Thomas against the government and a task force set up to investigate statements he made in his memoir.
Lawyer Mervyn Lai, appearing for Thomas, said Justice Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh will deliver his decision online at 2.30pm.
Lai said Wan Ahmad was originally scheduled to rule on Aug 8 but put the decision back by two months.
In early 2021, Thomas published his book – “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness” – detailing his early life, his experiences as a lawyer, and his time as attorney-general between June 2018 and February 2020.
On Oct 8, 2021, the Ismail Sabri Yaakob administration set up an eight-member task force to investigate whether statements in his book were seditious, had exposed government secrets, or revealed any abuse of power or professional negligence on his part.
It concluded that Thomas allegedly had “powerful vested interests” in the appointment of judges, and that he had attempted to use “political or executive influence” to ensure that certain appointments were carried through.
On Oct 13 last year, the government declassified the task force report, which made several recommendations, including that Thomas be investigated for possible offences.
In his originating summons, which was also filed last October, Thomas claimed the publication of the report had defamed him under Section 499 of the Penal Code and that the published content violated Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA) as it was obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive in character or was made with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass another person.
He also sought a declaration that the publication of the report by the government violated his right to his reputation as protected by Articles 5(1) and 13(1) of the Federal Constitution.
Ads by KioskedThe government and the task force then filed an application to strike out the suit.
‘Political attack’
On June 15, Lai submitted that the government, then led by Ismail, had “abused” its machinery by ordering the investigation.
He said the investigation was designed to “vilify” Thomas as part of a “political attack” on the previous Pakatan Harapan government led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who had appointed him to the post.
Lai said the suit should not be struck out on grounds it is “frivolous” and “vexatious”, as the government had contended.
Senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan, appearing for the government and the task force members, said the book had aroused public alarm.
Ads by KioskedHe said the task force was formed to perform a preliminary fact-finding mission, and that its findings were not binding on the government.
On Jan 11 this year, law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said said the Cabinet had agreed to establish a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to look into the claims in Thomas’s controversial memoir.
She said the RCI is aimed at finding out the truth and submitting recommendations to the government to reform the country’s legal institutions. - FMT

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