Wisdom is found when you step out of the shadows and into the light.

My Story: Justice in The Wilderness
Author: Tommy Thomas.

This book has generated so much publicity, even from people who have not managed to read it. Its sales have soared tremendously, selling off the shelves like hotcakes and has gone into multiple reprints in such a short time. The speed at which police reports were registered almost days after the book's release exposed Malaysian readers' voraciousness. Whether these people actually read the book is another question altogether.

Over the years, Malaysians have realised that rumours carry more weightage than the official narrative. Coffee-shop talks invariably turn up to be accurate, despite all denials. This book just affirms all of the above.

In my opinion, this book can be described as a logbook of a person who had completed his tour de force which he considered a national service for his country. He was given a mandate by the people to perform a task, and this is his way of saying this is what he did and what he failed to do. His report also describes what he found during his mission and the dead-ends that he could not overcome. A tinge of nostalgia can be seen as he narrates Malaysia's history that he grew in, his background, and the man behind the post of Attorney General of Malaysia.

For most Malaysians, what is described in the book is nothing new. We all know about it but just too courteous to squeal. Many did not want to rock the boat for fear of repercussions. We bicker and whine amongst friends, but the buck ends there. We do not utter this in polite company. As long as they can earn a living comfortably, like the cowardice German intellectuals Niemöller referred to, we do not confront the dragon. 

My civil service experience showed me there is ample opportunity to improve one’s capabilities, which would benefit the public. The only thing that seems to be the stumbling block could have been the individual’s inertia or the comfort of his safe zone. If one is engrossed in serving the public and making a mark, as public servants are supposed to do, i.e., to serve the people, he would be too short of time. Work is never finished, but the quality of work needs to be assessed periodically. 

When TT highlighted the numerous areas that AG’s office was deficient, many got hot under their collars/robes. For example, when Equanimity had to retrieve from Indonesian waters, TT realised that his office had a dearth of experience dealing with Maritime legal procedures. It is not that there is no such expertise here in Malaysia. Only that the AGC did not seem to keep up with the changes. 

With TT’s good office, he managed to get the correct people for the job, and it turned out favourable to the people of Malaysia. If one noticed from the book, many counsels from the private sector are more than willing to go pro bono for the country. 

One of the main gripes of the far right-wing of society on TT’s tenure is his alleged ‘handling’ of Adib's death, the firefighter. This book is a canvas for TT to show his side of the story where his job was to help set a coroner’s tribunal and aid them with the necessary information. 

The last thing that TT would be guilty of his racism and denigration of a particular society's ethnicity. He clearly calls a spade a spade. He gave due when it was and did not mince his words when he saw deficiencies. 

From my reading, TT’s 22 months’ tenure at the helm of the highest legal advisor to Malaysia's Government is a short-lived dream. In the pitch of darkness that the Malaysian were enduring pre-GE 14, we had a plan. It came through. During REM sleep, at a time of bliss, came a dream with the hope of a better tomorrow, the bubble popped. The bark of a distant dog shook us from that slumber. We were brought to the ground to realise that our neighbourhood was bountiful with many dogs and dog owners' paranoia that their property will be broken into. They do not mind the occasional ugly encounters with their beast or the occasional litter they drop around the housing estate. And we stay awake for the rest of the night.  

Like in the cave allegory, we build our own echo chamber, self-aggrandising our perceived achievements. If we stay too long in the cave, the light may be too blinding for us to accommodate that we may recoil into the kingdom of one-eyed-Jack or the blind for validation.

                                                                       
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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