FORMER prime minister Najib Razak is to sue former attorney-general Tommy Thomas over a statement in his recently published book My Story: Justice in the Wilderness, which Najib says implicates him in the murder of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Najib’s lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah confirmed the action would be brought against Thomas.

“Yes, we are suing him. Yesterday, Thomas had replied to our letter of demand… he said that he did not defame our client.

“The publisher GB Gerakbudaya Enterprise Sdn Bhd has not replied to our letter. We are going to file defamation suit against both Thomas and the publisher as soon as possible,” said Shafee.

On February 2, Najib’s solicitor Messrs. Shafee & Co demanded an apology and RM10 million in damages from Thomas over allegations against him in the book.

In the letter, Najib also gave Thomas until noon yesterday to provide a satisfactory reply. He also demanded an apology and unequivocal public retraction of the alleged defamatory statement in chapter 42 under the title Altantuya in the book.

He said that by clear inference and innuendo, Thomas had conveyed the message that he, as the then attorney-general and public prosecutor, was satisfied of the truthfulness of the allegations by two convicted persons that Najib was involved in directing them to murder Altantuya.

The statement was clearly motivated by bad faith and principally done in Thomas’s selfish pursuit of seeking cheap publicity, fuelled by his ego, sensationalism and profiteering, he said. – Bernama, February 6, 2021.