Minister takes Bar to task over refusal to cooperate in ex-AG probe

The statement by the Malaysian Bar questioning the impartiality of the special task force (STF) in investigating the allegations by former attorney-general Tommy Thomas in his book, "My Story: Justice in the Wilderness" is completely baseless and inaccurate, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said today.

He said the STF had invited the Malaysian Bar Council to participate in the consultation sessions to ensure that the views of all parties were taken into consideration in preparing the report, adding however that the council had declined the invitation.

"As such, casting a negative perception on the impartiality of the STF members is completely baseless. The Malaysian Bar ought to have come forward and given its views on the various allegations identified by the STF.

"To refuse participation and then question the impartiality of the STF and its members should not be the Bar's way to confront issues of this kind," he said in a statement.

He was responding to Malaysian Bar president Karen Cheah Yee Lynn's statement on Oct 25 that the Bar was perturbed by the untimely declassification of the STF's report, which coincided with the dissolution of Parliament on Oct 7 and the upcoming general election scheduled for Nov 19.

Cheah also said it was reported that Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had urged Barisan Nasional’s election machinery to capitalise on the declassified report, saying this could potentially be an abuse of power.  

Wan Junaidi said the findings obtained were based on 19 consultations conducted by the STF among the various stakeholders, and that it had also looked into the various documents provided by the relevant agencies.

"I must stress that the methodology used, issues analysed, stakeholders involved in the consultation sessions as well as those who refused to participate have all been listed in the report. This clearly shows that the STF conducted the job in a responsible, transparent and impartial manner," he said.

He added that the STF had submitted its recommendations for improvements in various areas like the judiciary and the legal system for further consideration by the government.

The STF was established by the Cabinet on Dec 22 last year for fact-finding and analysing the information on the allegations by Thomas in his book. 

The findings were reported to the Cabinet on Sept 30 this year.