KUALA LUMPUR: Attorney-General (AG) Tommy Thomas defended the appointment of a counsel in his former law firm to lead lawyers representing the government in claiming ownership of the luxury yacht Equanimity.
In a statement today, Tommy said that the appointment of S. Selvaratnam was made by him due to her vast experience and expertise in Admiralty law, or the law of shipping.
“She is the acknowledged leader of the Admiralty Bar with regard to litigation matters, having been involved in numerous arrests of ships and vessels in our courts, and also in opposing arrests in more than 25 years of specialised practice.
“She has been the chairperson of the Shipping and Admiralty Law Committee of the Bar Council for many years and is the founding president of the International Malaysian Society of Maritime Law.
“She is therefore the obvious choice to advise Chambers and myself on the matter.
“The decision to appoint Selvaratnam was mine, and mine alone, because I have trust and confidence in her ability and integrity,” he said.
He said the Chambers requires expertise in drafting legal papers in shipping law and corporate law as the transactions carried out by Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, and his advisors were intricate and layered with corporate deals to hide the true source of funds to purchase the yacht.
“(The Chambers) do not have a specialist shipping unit (so) I decided to turn to the Bar, and chose three of Malaysian’s leading shipping lawyers, Selvaratnam, Jeremy Joseph, and Ong Chee Kwan to represent the Claimants, along with senior federal counsel Alice Loke.
“Due to the complex litigation in which the stakes are as high as RM1 billion, the law firm Joseph & Partners will be paid normal commercial rates, while Selvaratnam, on the other hand, will not be paid any fee.
“Her services are rendered to us without any charge to the taxpayer,” he said, adding that both Selvaratnam and Joseph had declined an offer from foreign parties to act for them in this matter last week.
Thomas said it was neither right nor sensible for the people to be deprived of the services of Selvaratnam merely because she has been a consultant in his former law firm for the past eight years.
“It must be kept in mind that these legal proceedings are brought for the benefit of our country.
“There is no question of conflict of interest because we are all on the same side.
“The arguments would be vigorously put forward by all sides when the Court hears the matter on its merits, and it is critical that Malaysia has the best barristers,” he said.
He said the government must seek the best shipping lawyers to represent its case during hearing, as litigation in court could be very dynamic and unpredictable.
It was reported that the A-G’s Chambers had invoked the Admiralty jurisdiction of the High Court of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur against the yacht; and on Aug 6, the court issued a warrant against it.
The super yacht, linked to businessman Jho Low, arrived in Malaysia after making its way from Indonesia.
The vessel, which was escorted by Malaysian police and the Royal Malaysian Navy, docked in Port Klang two days ago.