N Sivananthan had told Thomas to steer clear of the case, saying his dual role as AG and public prosecutor would be construed as a clash of interests.
Sivananthan also said this was against an election promise by Pakatan Harapan (PH), which had wanted to separate the roles of the AG and public prosecutor.
But DAP’s Jelutong MP RSN Rayer said Thomas’ role as public prosecutor in the Najib case was fitting as the AG was not involved in political parties and had an untainted reputation in the legal fraternity.
Rayer also said Thomas’ involvement as lead prosecutor in the case was not against the Legal Profession (Rules of Etiquette) Rules 1978.
“Unless Sivananthan can refer to any specific instances where Thomas is alleged to have made pre-judgmental statements against Najib and the 1MDB issue in the past, there is no cogent reason for Thomas to be recused from the prosecution team.
“It must be reminded that lawyers, from time to time, are called upon for opinions on cases. But such opinions should not be regarded as grounds to dismiss a lawyer from a prosecution team,” Rayer told FMT.
Rayer was referring to a remark by Najib’s lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who said Thomas had made “pre-judgments” before becoming the AG and hence should be barred from prosecuting the case.
Rayer also denied that PH had promised to separate the roles of AG and public prosecutor in its election manifesto.
“There was no such pledge made in the manifesto. We pledged to separate the executive and the judiciary.
“But it must be reminded that the AG is answerable to Parliament, not the executive,” he added.
“Unlike the former AG Mohamed Apandi Ali, whose political affiliations with Umno remain an open secret, Thomas is not a member of PKR, DAP, Amanah or PPBM.
Last Wednesday, Najib was charged with three counts of criminal breach of trust and one count of abuse of power in relation to RM42 million from SRC International which was transferred to his personal bank account.
Najib, in three civil filings made some two weeks ago, claimed that Thomas, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Mohd Shukri Abdull and police commercial crime head Amar Singh were prejudiced against him over the course of their investigations.
Lawyer: Conflict of interest if AG leads prosecution on Najib