KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 2): Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak is threatening to sue former attorney-general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas if he does not retract an allegedly “libellous publication” in his newly-released memoir “My Story: Justice in the wilderness”, which implicates Najib in the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Thomas’ controversial memoir, which was published last week, stated that Sirul Azhar Umar provided evidence which corroborated the claims of his co-accused Azilah Hadri, according to a senior deputy public prosecutor (DPP) whom he had instructed to meet and interview Sirul at the Villawood immigration detention centre in Australia.

Both Sirul and Azilah were former members of the police's elite Special Action Force. They were convicted of the 2006 murder of the Mongolian national.

“In December 2019, the AGC was served a lengthy Statutory Declaration affirmed by Azilah, in which he provided astonishing evidence or orders he had received from Najib Razak to eliminate Altantuya on the grounds that she was a foreign spy and that this was in the national interest,” Thomas’ book stated.

“I asked a senior DPP to fly to Sydney, to seek permission from the authorities there to interview Sirul on the credibility of Azilah’s confession. My senior DPP spent many days interviewing Sirul in Villawood. Sirul’s evidence corroborated Azilah’s. Their joint version was credible, particularly taking into consideration that they were incarcerated in different detention centres in two countries with no means of contacting each other. I was satisfied they were truthful,” Thomas said.

Najib is seeking an immediate and unequivocal public retraction of the statement from the book.

Najib, in the letter of demand sighted by theedgemarkets.com through his lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, is also demanding that Thomas issue an “unqualified apology” which is to be approved by his lawyers and published in newspapers of Najib’s choice.

Najib is also seeking RM10 million in damages for the injury Thomas has caused to the former premier’s reputation and an undertaking that Thomas not repeat the allegations and comments made in the book.

According to sources, the letter has been sent to and received by Thomas.

Shafee, in the letter, claims: “By clear inference and innuendo, you have also conveyed the message that you as the erstwhile Attorney-General and Public Prosecutor was satisfied of the truthfulness of the allegations of the two convicted persons against our client pertaining to the purported allegations by them that our client was involved in directing them to murder Altantuya Shaaribu.”

Shafee also claimed that the title of the book “Justice in the wilderness” is an “affront to the judiciary” because it was published in selfish motivation.

“Your impugned statements of our client portraying him as a murderer by direct inference and innuendo are wholly untrue, false, frivolous, vexatious and devoid of substance nor evidence,” Shafee contended.

Shafee also said Thomas was grossly negligent, reckless, irresponsible, deliberate, and malicious and aimed to lower Najib’s “esteem and good reputation in the eyes of the public” and further expose him to public hatred, scorn, odium, contempt and ridicule.

Shafee also claimed that Thomas was seeking cheap publicity and sensationalism as motives for publishing the book.

Read also:
Apandi lodges police report against Tommy Thomas for allegedly scandalising and humiliating officers in memoir 
Report lodged against Tommy Thomas for alleged defamation
Tommy Thomas autobiography temporarily out of stock  
Responsibilities above power: Book review of 'MY STORY — Justice in the Wilderness' 
Nazir Razak weighs in on controversial book by former AG Tommy Thomas