KUALA LUMPUR: Former Attorney-General (AG) Tan Sri Tommy Thomas have about a month to file his statement of claim in his lawsuit against the special task force (STF) which probed his infamous memoir "My Story: Justice in The Wilderness".
Senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan said the court also instructed the defendants – STF and the government, to file their reply on Jan 4 next year.
He said the court also fixed Jan 30 next year for case management.
On Oct 2, High Court Judge Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh instructed that Thomas's originating summons (OS) against the defendants be converted into a civil suit, where witnesses would testify in court.
An OS is a legal document used to initiate civil proceedings seeking specific remedies, often without the need for a full trial.
In Oct last year, Thomas filed the OS seeking a declaration that an eight-member task force formed by the government to investigate claims in his memoir, is an unlawful body.
Wan Ahmad Farid in his judgement today said it was improper for this matter to be resolved solely through the submissions of affidavits by both parties.
The court also refrained from making any determination on the constitutionality or legality of the STF as it has to be canvassed at the Civil Court.
In 2021, Thomas created a furore after his memoir "My Story: Justice in the Wilderness" made claims that there was abuse of power in the appointment of judges, the executive interfering in the judiciary, selective prosecution and breach of the oath of secrecy.
Later that year, it prompted the government, under the then prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob's administration, to set up an eight-member task force to investigate.
The establishment of the special task force (STF) to investigate the claims at the time was in accordance with the cabinet's executive powers under Article 39 of the Federal Constitution.
This has prompted Thomas to file an OS by naming STF team members – Datuk Seri Fong Joo Chung, Datuk Seri Hashim Paijam, Datuk Dr Junaidah Kamarruddin, Datuk Jagjit Singh Bant Singh, Datuk Shaharudin Ali, K. Balaguru, Farah Adura Hamidi, Mohd Najib Surip and the government as defendants.
Thomas claimed the establishment of the illegal special task force to purportedly enquire into his conduct and make findings against him was illegal and ultra vires.
He said all purported actions, investigations, and action or steps taken by the defendants were unsupported by any written law and were therefore illegal and void.
He said a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) which was provided for under the Commission of Inquiry Act 1950 - by appointment of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, could enquire into the conduct of any federal officer (such as himself), and thereafter render a report.
Thomas claimed the illegal special task force had no power to require, direct, or recommend the public prosecutor or investigating agencies to investigate 'possible offences'.
Thomas is seeking a declaration that the illegal special task force is an unlawful body of persons having no authority in law to perform the function assigned to them by the government.
The book, titled "My Story: Justice in the Wilderness", was published in Jan two years ago.