LETTER | Pakatan Harapan had selected Tommy Thomas as attorney-general based on his qualifications and experience as a senior lawyer.

However, in recent events, he has gone against his own principles and that of Harapan. I must say Thomas should resign as he has failed Malaysians terribly for initiating contempt proceedings against lawyer Arun Kasi on the grounds that the latter's online articles had scandalised judges of the Federal Court.

No Malaysians would ever have imagined that under the current government of New Malaysia such proceedings would be initiated by an attorney-general who constantly chants freedom of speech!

One would think that Thomas, the self-proclaimed constitutional expert, would have a better understanding of how to exercise his discretion when he himself was charged and convicted for contempt of court in 1998.

Thomas also wrote in his book entitled Abuse of Power that “the court cannot gain respect by contempt orders; respect has to be earned over time by proper judicial conduct and correct judicial decision".

On Jan 11, reiterated his views of the judiciary during the opening of the Legal Year 2019, when he said that “the administration of justice has not been immune from the cancer of corruption which spread in the conditions created by the former government. The scandals that involved judges, lawyers, prosecutors and litigant for at least three decades since the judicial crisis of 1988 are too well known”.

It appears that it is acceptable for Thomas to criticise the judiciary but not for anybody else, including poor Arun.

Thomas has curbed freedom of speech, which ironically is a principle he claims to passionately believe in. Moreover, by instituting the proceedings against Arun, isn’t Thomas implying that Malaysians are unable to think for themselves, in that, if we read something in the media about the judiciary, then we will automatically lose confidence in the judiciary?

Give us some credit, Thomas. We Malaysians are not that narrow-minded.

Malaysians in our “New Malaysia” are pleased that the new government encouraged freedom of speech; in fact, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad even encouraged us Malaysians to speak our mind.

Mahathir has said "we live in a free democratic country". 

Sadly, Thomas has failed to carry out the ideals of our prime minister and Harapan and, in doing so, he has gone against the spirit of our New Malaysia.