Caretaker prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has admitted that he had declassified the report detailing Putrajaya’s investigation into former attorney-general Tommy Thomas’ book so it can be used as political “bullets” to attack Pakatan Harapan.
In a rally at Bagan Datuk yesterday, Ismail Sabri urged the party machinery to “capitalise” on the findings to attack its rivals in the upcoming general election campaign.
“I have given you bullets. In the Thomas case, we exposed (the report) by the special task force. I have given lots of bullets here.
“I asked the de facto law minister to publish it on their website, to detail what was done and what mistakes Thomas made.
“I told the attorney-general to take immediate action (against Thomas) under the Official Secrets Act, defamation law and so on. I told him to bring up this issue immediately,” he said.
“So, if this is already brought up, we cannot just leave it like that. We must capitalise on this issue to attack them.”
Ammo against Dr M
Ismail Sabri also noted how a separate task force found then-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad negligent in the Pulau Batu Puteh case.
He said the task force found Mahathir jumped the gun when he instructed the legal team to withdraw from the sovereignty dispute with Singapore, even before the cabinet was consulted.
At the rally yesterday, he referred to the declassified information as BN’s “weapon” against Mahathir.
“In my statement I said there is a possibility of negligence on the part of Mahathir…this is a point for us. Our weapon. Don’t let this slide. Play up this issue,” he told the party machinery.
This has to be one of the most shocking self confessions made by any politician anywhere, ever.
Even the most blatant autocrats atop of the most brutal of regimes would hesitate to be so frank about such a personal and self-interested abuse of the law for political advantage. Such thugs generally at least seek to pretend that they have allowed the due process of the law to take its independent course against the enemies for whom they have concocted ‘crimes’, even if behind the scenes everybody knows they spurred the actions.
Of course, UMNO leaders have got slack in such dissembling, having become so used to getting their way in everything. For the same reason they have so easily been caught stealing. Najib was up to the same thing, of course, personally conspiring in advance with the young man who later accused his political opponent Anwar of ‘sodomy’ against him. But at least he attempted to keep his machinations secret.
Yet here is Ismail Sabri, who apparently has the benefit of a law degree so ought to understand the basic principles at least of the system of justice he represents, openly advertising his plan to abuse the system of justice by launching political prosecutions to help fight an election.
How jaw dropping is that?
He ADMITS that he has instructed the Attorney General to prosecute his predecessor Tommy Thomas, based on a report Ismail himself commissioned and then de-classified so that the contents could be again used in the court of public opinion against his target in a blatant act of contempt.
Then he admits that he plans the same tactics against the former prime minister himself against whom he has likewise gone after, rootling around for possible ‘crimes’ to be identified against him – the best he can come up with is a subjective view that Mahathir failed to get a good enough agreement out of Singapore over a dispute he settled.
Quote: “there is a possibility of negligence on the part of Mahathir…this is a point for us. Our weapon. Don’t let this slide. Play up this issue,”
As for Thomas, he admits the best he can drum up is an accusation of “mistakes” but says mistakes will do. What about Ismail’s mistake in admitting in public that he has abused his position by interfering with the independence of the law?
Quote: “I told the attorney-general to take immediate action (against Thomas) under the Official Secrets Act, defamation law and so on. I told him to bring up this issue immediately….. We must capitalise on this issue to attack them.”
Hopefully, the Malaysian people will see this crass and awful behaviour for what it is, political bankruptcy, corruption and desperation. If a party that acts in such a manner is allowed to return to office no one will be safe from the corrupt and predatory abuses of UMNO right from the top echelons of society to the humble corner shop.
Ismail’s “ammo” deserves to be returned to sender and explode right in UMNO’s back yard on Election Day.