KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob ordered a probe into possible misconduct by a former top prosecutor who had brought corruption cases against several senior members of his ruling United Malays National Organisation UMNO party.
Tommy Thomas, who served as an attorney-general between 2018 and 2020, will be investigated for sedition, unauthorised disclosure of government secrets, and abuse of power, the prime minister said in a statement.
Ismail Sabri was under pressure from some UMNO members to investigate Thomas, who described some of the key decisions he made during his tenure as an attorney-general in a memoir last year.
Among these were graft charges against UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and the now-jailed ex-premier Najib Razak.
Ahmad Zahid and Najib, who deny wrongdoing, have said the charges against them were politically motivated. Both men are highly influential and were among the party members calling for a probe into Thomas.
Thomas was contacted by Reuters and declined to say anything.
The probe comes as Ismail Sabri is facing separate demands from UMNO to call for early polls to capitalise on its success in recent local elections.
UMNO was voted out in 2018 amid widespread graft allegations by a coalition led by Mahathir Mohamad.
A year ago, when Ismail Sabri was appointed premier, the party returned to power after the collapse of two successive governments, including Mahathir's.
Ismail Sabri is expected to attend a meeting of senior UMNO officials later on Friday to discuss possible election dates, Malaysian media reported.