Malaysia
Does your silence mean guilt? Ismail Sabri asks Pakatan over declassified report on ex-AG Thomas
Caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob speaks to the media during a press conference at Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur October 25, 2022. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — Caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri today questioned Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders for their silence about the findings revealed by a special task force investigating Tan Sri Tommy Thomas over the former attorney general’s disclosures about their administration in his 2021 book My Story: Justice In The Wilderness.

The Umno vice-president said that keeping mum is usually taken as an admission of guilt.

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"I do not (know) why they are silent. Usually when people feel guilty, they will shut up. Usually lah,” he told reporters at Bukit Aman here.

Ismail Sabri was weighing in on the task force’s recently declassified investigative report that found Thomas to have broken several laws.

He said that it is now up to the relevant authorities to take further action.

"In the first part, we saw possible breach of rules under the Penal Code, MACC Act and the OSA. We leave the relevant authorities to investigate the matter,” he said.

MACC refers to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and OSA means the Official Secrets Act.

A special task force led by Sarawak Legal Adviser Datuk Seri Fong Joo Chung and which included former Sabah secretary Datuk Hashim Paijan; and former secretary-general of the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry Datuk Junaidah Kamaruddin; had spent nine months investigating Thomas’ assertions about what happened behind the scenes during the PH government’s brief 22-month rule.

The task force’s 241-page report were declassified on October 21 and published on the website of the Legal Affairs Division, under the Prime Minister’s Department.

The special task force identified 19 issues in the book that required the government’s attention.

Published last year, Thomas’ book was criticised by various quarters including the Attorney General’s Chambers, lawyers, politicians and some of the public for allegedly containing elements of incitement, insults and defamation.

More than a hundred police reports were lodged against Thomas over his book.

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