Two legal eagles claw Maszlee over LTTE

Two legal eagles sank their claws into former education minister Maszlee Malik today over his criticisms of Attorney-General Tommy Thomas' decision to withdraw charges against 12 people who allegedly supported the defunct Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

"This is rubbish, seriously," wrote Ambiga Sreenevasan on Twitter, while retweeting Maszlee's statement.

"There is no evidence of terrorism. Just because LTTE is on the list does not mean the case is automatically proven. They are two separate things," said Ambiga, who is also a human rights advocate.

Similarly, former minister in the Prime Minister's Department for legal affairs and judicial reform, Zaid Ibrahim, said Maszlee (photo) was "confused" about the role of the attorney-general and that of the home minister.

"(The) minister may want to list LTTE as a terrorist organisation but on the issue of charging someone in court, it is the AG who decides if there is enough evidence.

"Why can't we respect our own AG?" asked Zaid, also on Twitter.

"You don't give the benefit of a doubt to your AG, only to an accused person. To your AG there cannot be any doubt as to his competency and judgment. If you do, then you have to replace him."

In a statement yesterday, Maszlee said Thomas was wrong to withdraw the cases and that the attorney-general should toe the government's line on LTTE being a terrorist group.

Maszlee said Thomas should prioritise national security or resign.

Thomas had explained that the charges against the 12 were not tenable as the alleged offence took place before LTTE was declared a terrorist group by the government.

He added that provisions in Section 66B(9) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (Amla) for a periodic review (six months) of terror groups also hurt the prosecution's case.

The LTTE disbanded in 2009 after losing a civil war in Sri Lanka.