Tommy Thomas (barrister)

Tan Sri Tommy Thomas is a Malaysian barrister and the former Attorney General of Malaysia from 2018 to 2020.[1][2][3] He was the first practising barrister to be appointed directly from the Malaysian Bar to be the Attorney General,[4] and the first non-Malay and non-Muslim Malaysian to hold this post after the formation of Malaysia in 1963.

Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri

Tommy Thomas

PSM
8th Attorney General of Malaysia
In office
4 June 2018 – 28 February 2020
MonarchMuhammad V
Abdullah
Prime MinisterMahathir Mohamad
Preceded byMohamed Apandi Ali
Succeeded byIdrus Harun
Personal details
Born1952 (age 68–69)
Kuala Lumpur, British Malaya
CitizenshipMalaysian
Nationality Malaysia
Spouse(s)Anna Lype
EducationVictoria Institution
Alma materUniversity of Manchester (LLB)
London School of Economics (MSc)
ProfessionBarrister (Middle Temple, London)

Early life and education

Thomas was born in Kuala Lumpur in 1952 and graduated from Pasar Road English School and Victoria Institution. He read law at University of Manchester in 1973 and was called to the bar by Middle Temple in 1974.[5] He has M.Sc. in International Relations from London School of Economics.[5]

Career

As a barrister

In 2001 and 2010, Thomas represented Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS)-led Terengganu and Kelantan governments in two separate lawsuits against Petronas over its failure to pay state oil royalty.[6][7]

In 2007 and 2008, he acted for the Securities Commission Malaysia to obtain a landmark High Court judgement ordering the Swisscash operators to pay US$83 million for compensating the investors in the Swiss Mutual Fund, which is known as an Internet-based worldwide Ponzi scheme hatched in Malaysia.[8][9]

In 2013 and 2014, he represented Penang government in its attempt to restore local government elections.[10][11]

Further in 2016 and 2017, he represented 76 next of kin of the passengers on board MH370 to ask Malaysia Airlines to release 37 documents including investigative reports on the missing flight MH370.[12][13]

Thomas was appointed Attorney General of Malaysia in 2018. He gave his first speech in Malay as Attorney General on 4 July and received many praises. The video of his speech went viral.[14] On 28 February 2020, Thomas resigned as the Attorney General in response to the 2020 Malaysian political crisis. He submitted his resignation letter to interim Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad.[3][15][16]

Other career

Thomas was a director of the Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance from 1995 to 2001. He was appointed Senior Consultant to the Corporate Governance Initiative of the United Nations Development Programme in 2000. He was editor of the report Corporate Governance in Asia: Lessons from the Financial Crisis, published in 2002.[17][18]

He is a life member of the Malaysian Economic Association and the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.[18]

Controversies

Appointment as the Attorney General

Thomas had previously represented Chin Peng, the leader of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), in a failed appeal to the government to allow his body to be buried in his hometown, Sitiawan. Prior to his nomination as the new attorney general, the issue was touted by detractors as one of many reasons why Malaysians should object his appointment.[19] In spite of that, Thomas was appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the attorney general which led to two online petitions with one in support and the other against Thomas' appointment.[20] Subsequently, another petition was launched to urge the Agong to remove him from attorney general due to his poor command of the Malaysian language in wake of his request to the court that he be allowed to proceed in English when leading a prosecution against former Prime Minister Najib Razak.[21]

However, Thomas has said that PAS may have helped him stay as attorney general, instead of resigning the next day after his appointment in June 2018.[22] Previously, Thomas had suggested that he could have been attorney general for just a single day, due to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's concern about the "scale and magnitude of the Malay opposition" to his appointment.[23] Thomas reportedly said that Dr Mahathir that night changed his mind after PAS released a statement regarding the announcement earlier that day. “Apparently, a public statement issued by PAS that night that they had no objections to my appointment, especially since I had represented the PAS governments of Terengganu and Kelantan in their petroleum royalty cases against Petronas, had surprised Tun (Mahathir),”[24] he was quoted saying in his prologue of his book.[23]

Discrimination in exercise of discretion

Taking into consideration good relations between Indonesia and Malaysia, Thomas agreed to Indonesia's request for the release of Siti Aisyah, one of the two female suspects in Kim Jong-nam assassination, and allowed the passage of nolle prosequi by requesting the court to order a discharge not amounting to acquittal against Siti Aisyah. However, he rejected a plea by the second female suspect Doan Thi Huong to drop the murder charge against her despite a request for release from the Vietnamese government.[25][26]

The different treatment towards the two suspects was perceived as discriminatory practice in the Malaysian judiciary system as the court had found a prima facie case against both Siti Aisyah and Doan.[27] Ramkarpal Singh, the Malaysian Member of Parliament for Bukit Gelugor, stated that the refusal to withdraw the murder charge against the second suspect was "mind boggling and raises questions about the powers of the Attorney General".[28][29] Similar views were also expressed by the newly elected Malaysian Bar President Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor, who stated that it was unusual for two individuals to be charged with the same crime but for one person to have her charge dropped and another remained charged.[30]

In April 2019, the murder charge against Doan was dropped and replaced with a lesser charge of "voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means". Doan pleaded guilty to the alternative charge and was sentenced to three years and four months in prison.[31]

Publications

Thomas has written 2 publications - Anything But the Law (Essays on Politics & Economics) and Abuse of Power (Selected Works on the Law and Constitution).[32][33]

Launched simultaneously in 2016, both books contained collections of essays he had written over the past 34 years on the Federal Constitution, law, politics and economics and that had been published by online portals and by the Malaysian Bar.[2]

Honours

References
  1. "With Thomas as AG, Malaysia's finest barrister to lead 1MDB litigation, says his law firm". The Star. 5 June 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  2. "Ex-employee raves about 'best boss' on FB". The Star. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  3. "Tommy Thomas resigns as AG". Malaysiakini. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  4. Faiz Halim (5 June 2018). "Malaysian Bar extends full cooperation to new AG Tommy Thomas". The Edge Markets. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  5. "Malaysian Bar Congratulates Tommy Thomas on Being Appointed as the New Attorney General of Malaysia" (Press release). The Malaysian Bar. 5 June 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  6. "Kelantan sues Petronas for oil royalties". The Edge Markets. 30 August 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  7. "PAS 'wholeheartedly' accepts appointment of Thomas as AG". Free Malaysia Today. 5 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  8. "In the High Court of Malaya at Kuala Lumpur (Commercial Division)" (PDF). Securities Commission Malaysia. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  9. "SC To Resolve Swisscash Monies Case Soon". Bernama. South-South Information Gateway. 12 August 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  10. "Federal Court allows Penang govt to commence petition on local elections". The Star. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  11. Qishin Tariq (9 April 2014). "Parliament cannot abolish local government elections, Federal Court hears". The Star. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  12. "Court orders Malaysia Airlines to hand over documents on MH370 to passengers' next of kin". The Straits Times. 9 September 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  13. "Appeals court upholds order that MAS releases documents to MH370 next-of-kin". The Star. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  14. "AG delivers speech in Bahasa Malaysia". The Star. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  15. "Tommy Thomas quits as AG (updated)". The Star. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  16. "Malaysia's Attorney-General Tommy Thomas quits". The Straits Times. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  17. Corporate Governance in Asia: Lessons from the Financial Crisis. United Nations Development Programme. 2002. ISBN 978-983-40995-0-3.
  18. "15 Facts About Tommy Thomas That Every Malaysian Should Know – Tommy Thomas Is The King". Malaysia Today. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  19. Zaidi Azmi (4 June 2018). "Some misgivings over Thomas' nomination as AG". The Mole. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  20. Mei Mei Chu (3 June 2018). "Tale of two petitions shows Malaysians divided on Tommy Thomas as AG". The Star. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  21. "Petition Launched To Demand AG's Tommy Thomas Removal For Weak BM - Rais Yatim Urged AG To Strive For A Serviceable Command of BM". The Coverage. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  22. Lim, Ida. "Tommy Thomas says PAS helped him keep AG job, after Dr M asked him to resign the next day in 2018 | Malay Mail". www.malaymail.com. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  23. Thomas, Tommy (2021). My Story: Justice in the Wilderness. ISBN 9789672464181.
  24. "Kelantan sues Petronas for oil royalties". The Edge Markets. 30 August 2010. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  25. Widjiono Wasis (14 March 2019). "Terungkap Isi Surat Jaksa Agung Malaysia soal Bebasnya Siti Aisyah" [Revealed Letter Contents from Malaysian Attorney General on the Release of Siti Aisyah] (in Indonesian). Senayan Post. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
     • "Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights Request Letter". Retrieved 14 March 2019 – via Tuổi Trẻ.
     • "Malaysian Attorney-General Respond Letter". Retrieved 14 March 2019 – via Tuổi Trẻ.
     • Rahmat Khairulrijal (14 March 2019). "(Update) Kim Jong Nam murder trial: AGC rejects Vietnam woman's bid to withdraw charge". New Straits Times. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
     • Nadirah H. Rodzi (14 March 2019). "Lawyers for Vietnam woman in Kim Jong Nam murder accuse Malaysia of 'discrimination' as her trial is postponed". The Straits Times. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  26. "Malaysia rejects call to free Vietnamese accused in Kim Jong Nam killing". The Edge Markets. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  27. hermesauto (14 March 2019). "Lawyers for Vietnam woman in Kim Jong Nam murder accuse Malaysia of 'discrimination' as her trial is postponed". The Straits Times. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  28. "Murder charge against Vietnamese Doan should also be dropped, says Ramkarpal". The Star. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  29. Novi Christiastuti (14 March 2019). "Politikus Malaysia: Sangat Mengherankan Jaksa Tolak Cabut Dakwaan Doan" [Malaysian Politician: Very Surprising the Prosecutor Refused to Revoke Doan Indictment] (in Indonesian). DetikNews. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  30. Chung, Clarissa. "New M'sian Bar president: AG should explain why charges against Doan not dropped - Nation | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  31. Hamdan, Nurbaiti. "Doan may be freed next month - Nation | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  32. Tommy Thomas (2016). Anything But the Law: Essays on Politics and Economics. Strategic Information and Research Development Centre. ISBN 978-967-0960-11-1.
  33. Tommy Thomas (2016). Abuse of Power: Selected Works on the Law and Constitution. Strategic Information and Research Development Centre. ISBN 978-967-0960-08-1.
  34. "CJ, AG Tommy Thomas, IGP among those awarded 'Tan Sri' in conjunction with Agong's birthday". Bernama. Malay Mail. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
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