The renowned lawyer and politician also claimed that the government has insulted the King for failing to act against Lingam despite a 'royal' commission of inquiry recommending that it does.Karpal also pointed out that it has been a month since he accepted the challenge by de facto law minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz to prosecute Lingam.
However, until today, he said the AG Chambers had yet to issue him the 'fiat' certificate.
The Bukit Gelugor MP also recalled that Nazri had promised to persuade AG Abdul Gani Patail to issue him the certificate.
He said Nazri, being a trained lawyer, should have persuaded the AG by now to act pro-actively on the issue after he (Karpal) had accepted the minister's challenge early last month.
"I want the AG Chambers to shoot me the fiat by the coming week to let me charge Lingam for various offences revealed by the royal inquiry commission," said the DAP national chairperson.
Charge him with sedition
Karpal also slammed the government for not prosecuting Lingam.
"The government should not have let him off the hook. The royal commission is carried out under the King's order.
"The government"s failure to prosecute Lingam amounts to an insult to the King," he told reporters in Penang.
Last month, Nazri, who is minister in the Prime Minister's Department, said he would persuade the AG to engage Karpal to prosecute Lingam.
He said this when reporters questioned him on why the government did not want to prosecute the senior lawyer for allegedly brokering the appointment of judges.
Nazri stated that although Lingam's alleged brokering of judges may be morally wrong, it is not against any law.
Based on the royal commission's findings, Karpal told reporters today that Lingam should be prosecuted for sedition, for bringing the judiciary to disrepute and breaching professional conduct stipulated under the Legal Profession Act.
"If the AG can issue me a fiat in a week, I can immediately get on with the task of bringing Lingam to court to safeguard public interests.
"Lingam's case is not only of national interest but has also drawn international attention on the state of the country's judicial system,” he said.
Last year, the royal commission had recommended investigations against Lingam and several other prominent figures, including a business tycoon, two former chief justices and a minister.
Amidst mounting criticism against the federal government over the 'closure' of the case, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has also recently expressed interest in reexamining the matter.
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