Ex-AG Tommy Thomas wins appeal to recuse trial judge

Free Malaysia Today

6 hours ago

Tommy Thomas, who was attorney-general from June 2018 to February 2020, denied any abuse of power and said prosecution decisions were made only after reviewing investigation papers from the relevant agencies. (Bernama pic)
PUTRAJAYA : The Court of Appeal has allowed former attorney-general (AG) Tommy Thomas's appeal to recuse a High Court judge from hearing a malicious prosecution lawsuit filed by former minister Shahrir Samad.
Justice Faizah Jamaludin said a superior court bench would be in a better position to assess whether there was any bias on the part of the trial judge, Justice Roz Mawar Rozain, as they were not involved in the case.
'We perceive that there is a real danger of bias on the part of the trial judge, even if it might be unintentional.
'We order the judge to be recused from hearing the trial and all related proceedings,' said Faizah, who read the broad grounds of the unanimous decision.
Justices Supang Lian and Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin were also on the panel.
The bench also ordered Shahrir to pay Thomas RM30,000 in costs.
Shahrir, a former Johor Bahru MP, filed the suit in December 2022, naming Thomas, former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Latheefa Koya, MACC, and the government as defendants.
The suit centres on a RM1 million cheque from former prime minister Najib Razak, said to be intended for housing project restoration in Larkin, Johor.
Thomas, who was attorney-general from June 2018 to February 2020, denies any abuse of power and says prosecution decisions were made only after reviewing investigation papers from the relevant agencies.
Faizah today said that the trial judge had predetermined the weight of the evidence before the trial of the civil suit by Shahrir began.
She said the trial judge had summarised the contents of Thomas's memoir, 'My Story: Justice in the Wilderness', in her own words rather than reproducing Shahrir's pleadings.
Faizah also said it was not true that Thomas had lobbied for the AG's post and that of the public prosecutor.
Similarly, Roz Mawar's remark that Thomas had played a part in toppling the Barisan Nasional (BN) government prior to being named as AG in June 2018 was false, she said.
She said Thomas's lawyer, Alan Adrian Gomez, had submitted that BN was only voted out in the 14th general election.
Faizah also said that Thomas never suggested in his memoir that he had pressured MACC to investigate Shahrir.
'He only urged for a speedier and thorough investigation into Felda, Felcra and Mara by MACC,' she said.
Faizah said the claim of malicious prosecution was not written in the memoir but only pleaded by Shahrir.
Gomez, who appeared with Mervyn Lai and Haikaldin Mahyidin, told reporters that parties would appear before the trial judge on Aug 11.
Lawyer Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaludin said he would take instructions from Shahrir on whether to file an appeal in the Federal Court.