Kuala Lumpur: Sabah MCA wants a police investigation against Tan Sri Tommy Thomas for a letter when he was attorney general to the lawyers representing the heirs of the now-defunct Sulu sultanate concerning Sabah.
The political group claimed Thomas had put Malaysia’s sovereignty at risk with his 2019 letter, saying that it caused an arbitration ruling in France against Malaysia, in which Malaysia was ordered to pay US$14.9 billion (RM66.4 billion) to the Sulu sultan's descendants.
"Thomas as the AG at the time needs to explain to the people the contents of the letter in detail and with transparency. Sabah MCA urges the police to take necessary action against him if they find any wrongful conduct," Sabah MCA said in a statement today.
The group noted that up until now, Thomas has yet to make any statement regarding the judgement of the French Court of Arbitration.
In the filing, the group also urged the police to investigate if the Pakatan Harapan (PH) Cabinet back then discussed the details of the letter with Thomas.
Former finance minister Lim Guan Eng and former entrepreneur development and cooperatives minister Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof, who were part of the PH administration, previously denied that there had been Cabinet discussions on the letter Thomas had written.
In the now contentious letter, Thomas reportedly expressed that cession payments ceased in 2013 and stated that Malaysia was "now ready and willing” to pay the Sulu sultan’s heirs arrears amounting to RM48,300.
The letter had been used as evidence by lawyers representing the Sulu sultan’s heirs to refute Malaysia’s rejection of their identity.
In 2017, descendants of the Sulu sultanate started legal action for compensation over an 1878 lease for land in Sabah that had been signed with a British trading company.
The French arbitration ruling caused Luxembourg authorities to seize the assets of two Petronas subsidiaries on behalf of the Sulu sultan’s heirs.
The sum of 14.9 billion (RM66.4 billion) sought by the heirs derived from an effort to recover the unpaid cession money together with how much they believe they are owed for the oil and gas found in the region.
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