KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 — The High Court here dealt a blow today to attempts by two former chief justices, a prominent lawyer and two other people who were seeking to clear their names after being implicated in the now infamous V.K. Lingam video clip.
High Court judge Datuk Abdul Kadir Musa denied their application for a judicial review of the Royal Commission of Inquiry's findings into the video clip.
The video clip became fodder for the opposition during their general election campaign against Barisan Nasional, and today's decision could bring attention back into the case which highlighted the extent of judicial misconduct.
This comes as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi attempts to push through the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) Bill in Parliament, in what is an attempt to introduce transparency in the appointment of judges.
In the Lingam video clip, the prominent lawyer was recorded on video allegedly brokering the appointment of a senior judge.
The release of the video over the Internet last year represented a low point in the reputation and integrity of the Malaysian judiciary which has for years been questioned by the public.
The prime minister acknowledged the low level of confidence which the public has in the Malaysian courts after he tabled the JAC Bill, when he pointed out that many companies insist on clauses in their contracts to ensure arbitration overseas or to have cases settled abroad.
Datuk V.K. Lingam, tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan, Barisan Nasional and Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor and former Chief Justices Tun Eusoff Chin and Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim had applied for the judicial review.
Besides Lingam, who was filmed talking on the phone, and whose constant refrain of the words "correct, correct, correct" while allegedly promising to arrange for the appointment of certain judges became almost a rallying cry of opposition parties against corruption, the other four were mentioned by name in the recording by him.
The five men wanted to quash parts of the report which implicated them.
They claimed that the commission had prejudged the issues before it and lost its focus by going beyond its terms of reference.
The five-member panel of commissioners, in their report, had found the video clip to be authentic. The commission also recommended that appropriate course of action be taken against the five men and former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for misconduct.
It found that there is sufficient evidence to investigate the six men for offences under the Sedition Act, Official Secrets Act, the Penal Code and the Legal Profession Act 1976.
Except for Dr Mahathir, the other five filed for leave for a judicial review in an attempt to quash the inquiry's finding.
The commissioners — chairman Tan Sri Haidar Mohd Noor, former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong, retired Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mahadev Shankar, former Solicitor-General Puan Sri Zaitun Zawiyah Puteh and Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Khoo Kay Kim — sat for 17 days to inquire into the 14-minute video clip.
The attempt to get a judicial review is seen also as a protective step as there was then an ongoing investigation into the commission's findings.
The Anti-Corruption Agency has already completed the investigations and a report has been submitted to the Attorney-General's Chambers.
But it is still investigating a separate allegation that Lingam and Eusoff had holidayed together in New Zealand in the 1990s, in a case which suggests impropriety.
No comments:
Post a Comment