KUALA LUMPUR – Party leaders freed of criminal charges should sue former attorney-general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas over selective political prosecution, said Umno Youth chief Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.
In a fiery address during the wing’s general assembly, Asyraf alleged that Thomas’ purported actions during his tenure as the government’s top prosecutor have tarnished Umno’s reputation.
“Umno Youth urges party leaders freed of their charges to sue Tommy Thomas who has clearly acted with bad intentions to humiliate and damage Umno’s reputation by engaging in selective prosecution.
“Let this be a lesson that Umno will never bow to threats, nor beg for pity… and will not yield to oppression,” he said to thousands of delegates gathered at the World Trade Centre here today.
Yesterday, law minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said revealed that cabinet members suggested the formation of a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to examine allegations made by Thomas in his memoir, My Story: Justice in the Wilderness, following the findings of the special task force investigating the issue.
“The RCI is tasked with finding the truth and submitting recommendations to the government on the reform of the country’s legal institutions, and not to find fault with any particular party,” Azalina said.
Recently, Umno veteran Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad was discharged and acquitted of his RM1 million money-laundering charge by the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
Last September, Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was acquitted of all 40 charges of corruption in connection with the foreign visa system, while in 2021 party secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan was acquitted on a money-laundering charge involving RM2 million. – The Vibes, January 12, 2023
