KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 — Even former US president Donald Trump did not attack his own support base, ex-attorney general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas reportedly said when commenting on Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s past actions in criticising the Malays.
In his newly-released memoir My Story: Justice in the Wilderness, Thomas described Dr Mahathir as a riddle to his fellow allies in the Pakatan Harapan (PH), particularly when the latter criticised the Malays in public.
“A politician uses his base as a platform to increase his support elsewhere. Donald Trump, for all his stupidity, was smart enough to refrain from attacking his base,” Thomas was quoted saying in his book by the news portal The Vibes.
In his book, Thomas was also reported saying that Dr Mahathir had the “primary responsibility for the failure to manage” the PH coalition, as he was the leader of the coalition.
Thomas in his book criticised Dr Mahathir for alleged failures in his leadership over the PH Cabinet as the then prime minister, noting that Cabinet members then had gone against the principle of collective ministerial responsibility as some of them contradicted each other, The Vibes reported.
Thomas was attorney general during the PH administration from June 2018 until February 28, 2020, when he resigned ahead of the end of his term following the collapse of the PH administration.
In February 2020, the PH government collapsed following the Sheraton Move, and the pull out of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia from the coalition.
Dr Mahathir then quit as Bersatu chairman and also stepped down as prime minister, with the PH Cabinet subsequently dissolved.
A new federal government under Perikatan Nasional was then installed, with Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin sworn in as Malaysia’s eighth prime minister on March 1.
Published by Strategic Information and Research Development Centre (SIRD), the 573-page book is available for purchase from Gerakbudaya.
