Thomas broke his oath to guard and keep govt secrets at all times, says Zahid

Former attorney general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas (pic) broke his oath to guard and keep government secrets at all times, even when he is no longer in a position of power by including them in his memoir, says Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

The Umno president said one of the main thrusts in any government departments was not to share information deemed confidential under the Official Secrets Act 1972 with the public.

"Furthermore, such information shouldn't be used to boost the sale of a book which puts forward his opinion and not facts.

“Thomas' writings in "My Story: Justice in the wilderness" is an irresponsible act especially at a time when the country is flooded with problems that troubled the people, ” he said on Thursday (Feb 4).

Ahmad Zahid said not only did Thomas look down on deputy public prosecutors but also with everyone in the Attorney General's Chambers, the government department he headed.

“Thomas' actions could lead the public to perceive that officers in the AGC are incapable of carrying out their duties.

“His comments about government officers were only waiting for promotions, their salaries at the end of the month and retirement benefits are irresponsible, especially when it comes from someone who used to head a government department," he said.

Ahmad Zahid said he was concerned with what he thought were inaccuracies in Thomas' memoir that have been manipulated to sow hatred and slander towards Umno and Barisan Nasional as well as individuals he named in the book.

“This included political leaders and department heads in the AGC, in order to distort the people's trust in the government.

"The memoir depicts Thomas as someone who cannot keep secrets, hungry for adoration and wants publicity for himself," he said.

Ahmad Zahid added that Thomas was also insensitive when he put forward his views on what happened on May 13,1969 in his memoir and said it should not even be considered a historical fact.

"Thomas' negative perception of Tun Abdul Razak Hussein is obviously his own personal opinion meant to discredit him (Abdul Razak) as former Umno president," he said.

Ahmad Zahid also criticised Thomas' other actions such as his decision to discontinue proceeding on the 12 men charged over alleged links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in October 2019 and to not file an appeal against the coroner court's findings in the death of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim at the High Court.

"LTTE is still a terrorist organisation and any effort to raise funds for such an organisation is against the law.

"Thomas was also wrong when he decided not to charge anyone for Adib's death even after the coroner court stated that it was caused by two or three persons," he said.

Thomas mentioned reasons for his decision in his book that he felt the prosecution in the LTTE case was weak and although he thought coroner Rofiah Mohamad's findings in Adib's case was wrong, he decided not to appeal because the coroner's decision was for police to resume their investigations into the case.