Crime & Courts

Battle of 2 former AGs: Apandi lodges report against Tommy Thomas

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Attorney-General (AG) Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali today lodged a police report against his successor Tan Sri Tommy Thomas over alleged defamation in the latter's autobiography "My Story: Justice in the wilderness".

Apandi alleged that Thomas' memoir consisted a criminal defamation against him, and also contained sensitive information about the state, cabinet discussions, and the appointment of the AG.

"In general, I found that this book consisted a lot of malicious allegations against me, especially in page 199.

"I believe criminal defamation is punishable under Section 500 of the Penal Code.

"Even though he is a former AG, I see that he (Thomas) has breached his oath of secrecy in office pursuant to the Official Secrets Act and possibly committed an offence under Section 203A of the Penal Code," he said in the report.

Page 199 in Thomas's memoir is in relation to the appointment of Apandi as the AG and his involvement in dismissing any wrongdoing by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.

Meanwhile, Apandi when speaking to pressmen outside the Sentul police district headquarters, lambasted Thomas for criticising the Attorney-General's Chamber's officers as "lazy".

"This report is also for all who have been scandalised and humiliated by Thomas in his memoir, especially the AGC's officers.

"As a former AG, I sympathise with the officers in the AGC who have been looked down upon by their former boss (Thomas).

"This is unacceptable as the AGC's officers are the backbone of the legal service...they are very dedicated in doing their job," he said.

Apandi's police report is the latest lodged against Thomas's 500-page autobiography.

Former Solicitor General III Datuk Mohamad Hanafiah Zakaria has also lodged a similar report against Thomas regarding the book's contents.

Mohamad Hanafiah in the report stated that an excerpt from the book on page 248 was untrue and had the connotation that he was incapable of leading and supervising the prosecution team in the SRC International Sdn Bhd trial involving Najib.

He said he was the Trial and Appeals division head at the Attorney General's Chambers during the case against Najib three years ago.

On Feb 2, Najib too issued a letter of demand (LoD) to Thomas for defaming him in the same book by implicating him in the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu in one of the book's chapters.

He is seeking RM10 million in damages and a public apology from Thomas as well as immediate and unequivocal public retraction of the statement from the book.

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