Lim questioned if Ismail was willing to adopt the task force’s recommendation to promote judicial independence by separating the role of the public prosecutor from that of the AG.

“Ismail cannot pick and choose the recommendations (in the report) with the sole intention of benefiting him politically in the impending general election,” he said in a statement.

Yesterday, the report by a special task force investigating Thomas’ memoir was declassified and made public.

Among the findings were that Thomas had sidelined his own officers while he was AG, appointing 23 external lawyers to act on behalf of the government and that he had “powerful vested interests” in the appointment of judges.

The task force called for guidelines to be set on the powers of the AG and public prosecutor to appoint external lawyers to represent the government to guarantee transparency and integrity, while eliminating any conflict of interest.

Last Tuesday, Ismail, who is also an Umno vice-president, reportedly urged Barisan Nasional’s election machinery to capitalise on the declassified report.

In response, Lim labelled this a “definite abuse of power” by the caretaker prime minister.

“Ismail’s open admission that he had instructed the AG to act due to political benefits to Umno, clearly violates the AG’s role of statutory independence and makes any investigation and subsequent prosecution mala fide or in bad faith,” he said.

In September, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) revealed that Ismail had asked for Thomas to be investigated for sedition and various other offences, as recommended in the report by the special task force.

According to the PMO, these included potential breaches of the Official Secrets Act (OSA), the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act and sections of the Penal Code, which relate to the dissemination of false reports and wrongful disclosure of information.