Settlement terms of Apandi’s suit against govt must be made public: Kit Siang

KUALA LUMPUR – The government’s decision to keep the terms of settlement between former attorney-general Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi Ali and former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad concealed is indefensible in terms of public interest, said DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang.

In a statement today, the former lawmaker called for a review and reversal of the decision.

His statement comes after Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said’s written parliamentary reply to Ipoh Barat MP M. Kula Segaran on February 14 states that legal counsels to both parties in the matter had agreed to conceal the terms of the settlement during their negotiations.

All communications regarding the settlement negotiations and the agreed settlement terms, she said, have been classified as a secret according to the Official Secrets Act, in line with the agreement to keep the terms confidential.

“This is against the public interest, especially as Dr Mahathir had said that he was ‘mystified’ by Putrajaya’s decision not to reveal the details of the settlement with Apandi over compensation for the latter’s dismissal from his post.

“I agree with Dr Mahathir,” Lim said.

Lim pointed out that Apandi had already made his demand publicly and declared the settlement amount of RM2.23 million.

Earlier, Dr Mahathir had reportedly maintained that he made the right decision in sacking Apandi and that the matter was done according to procedure.

In a statement yesterday, Dr Mahathir expressed that he was “mystified” following the news about the out-of-court settlement being made between the government and Apandi.

“Yet the compensation the government made is a secret. Why? I have reason to find out why because I do not think he deserves to be compensated at all,” Dr Mahathir said in a series of tweets yesterday.

Lim opined that matters involving public interest require out-of-court settlements to be made public.

“The cabinet should reverse the decision to keep the out-of-court settlement from the knowledge of the public as the government is acting on behalf of the public.

“If Apandi wants to institute legal action as a result of the publication of the out-of-court settlement, he should be free to do so,” he added. – The Vibes, February 19, 2023