KUALA LUMPUR – Voters must demand that their parliamentary candidate support legal reforms that will see the attorney-general (AG) elected by the public, incumbent Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng said.
This is in view of Barisan Nasional’s (BN) plan to use the declassified report on former AG Tommy Thomas’ book My Story: Justice in the Wilderness as political fodder to attack Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the 15th general election, the DAP lawmaker said.
Lim also noted that caretaker prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had instructed AG Tan Sri Idrus Harun to take immediate action against Thomas, who was made AG by the PH government after it won the 2018 elections.
“I urge all concerned voters to demand that their respective parliamentary candidates, regardless of their political parties, push for a publicly elected AG in the event they are elected.
“It is time for Malaysia to have an AG who is not a political appointment in order to be independent from the executive branch of the government,” Lim said in a statement.
Lim said Ismail Sabri’s directive to Idrus was against constitutional provisions that gave the AG discretion to “institute, conduct or discontinue any proceedings for an offence” in the civil courts.
On October 13, Ismail Sabri announced the declassification of the report on Thomas’ book, just days after dissolving Parliament on October 10.
He said the special task force that investigated Thomas’ book for alleged offences, including breaches of the Official Secrets Act, had submitted its report to the cabinet on September 30.
The task force had identified 19 issues concerning the claims Thomas made in his book, which has been criticised by various quarters for alleged incitement and defamation. More than 100 police reports have been lodged against the former AG.
Ismail Sabri, when speaking at a political event in Bagan Datuk, Perak two nights ago, said the Barisan Nasional machinery should use the task force’s report on Thomas' book as election campaign material.
He also announced that he had told Idrus to act swiftly on Thomas’ alleged breach of the OSA. -- The Vibes, October 20, 2022
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