COMMENT | Tommy Thomas has explained himself succinctly that he did not agree to a settlement with film producer Riza Abdul Aziz over money laundering charges related to 1MDB funds and described claims that he agreed as a "lie".

I can accept the former attorney-general’s (AG) word for what it is because I see no reason to think otherwise.

In his 21 months as AG, Thomas (above) served the government, people and nation well. He came into the job at an extraordinary juncture in the nation’s political development.

With no known political connection, Thomas was chosen as the government’s principal legal adviser based on his knowledge of the law which was considered specifically crucial soon after the fall of the BN government in May 2018. He was the first practising barrister to be appointed AG.

The new Pakatan Harapan administration led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad had one top priority – to bring the corrupt to justice quickly – and Thomas was assigned that onerous task.

As it stands today, that special assignment for Thomas is far from over. The new AG should be exonerated of any shortfall on his part. There were just too...