Wednesday May 21, 2008

How the commission decided in the Lingam video inquiry

By SHAILA KOSHY

KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the V.K. Lingam video clip used a few approaches to examine the evidence with actual events, before concluding that the contents of the conversations in the clip, indicating judge brokering, were true.

The commission said the evidence presented and chronology of the judicial appointments being discussed in the video clip proved that:

> It was prominent lawyer Datuk V.K. Lingam on the telephone in the clip,

> It was former Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim on the other end of the line, and

> The process of judicial appointments was open to manipulation by the Executive and private citizens.

The chronology of judicial appointments from 2001-2002, as set out in the commission’s report, matches the contents of the telephone conversation between Lingam and Ahmad Fairuz, and the subsequent conversation between Lingam and businessman Loh Mui Fah, where Lingam tells Loh that he was speaking to Ahmad Fairuz, then Chief Judge of Malaya.

Citing the passage in the telephone conversation transcript where Lingam tells the person at the end of the line that he had spoken to Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor (the then deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and in charge of legal affairs), the commission found the only person who fitted was Ahmad Fairuz.

The commission said the machinery for bypassing then Chief Justice Tun Dzaiddin Abdullah was already in place before June 25, 2001.

Referring to Lingam’s revelations to Loh on the clip, the commission said the joint operation of Lingam, Tengku Adnan and business tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan as those responsible for ensuring (the late) Tan Sri Dr Abdul Malek Ahmad did not become Chief Judge of Malaya was no longer a matter for any doubt from Lingam’s perspective.

The five-man panel, comprising retired Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Haidar Mohamed Noor as chair and retired 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 Datuk Dr Khoo Kay Kim, submitted its four-volume reportto the King on May 9.

The commission notes that the Prime Minister’s office had written to the Conference of Rulers in August 2001 stating that the Prime Minister had consulted the Chief Justice (CJ) and the two Chief Judges before advising the King on the next Chief Judge of Malaya when he had not done so.

Citing a memorandum dated August 10, 2001, and signed by then Chief Secretary Tan Sri Samsudin Osman, the commission said the document requested the Conference of Rulers with “great respect and reverence” to consent to the appointments of Tan Sri Wan Adnan Ismail as Court of Appeal President and Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim as Chief Judge of Malaya (CJM).

It said then CJDzaiddin had written to then PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Oct 2, 2001, suggesting a list of five candidates to fill 12 vacancies in the High Court.

It said the letter had a handwritten note, apparently the PM’s, for the Chief Secretary (Samsudin) to give his opinion.

The panel said Samsudin testified Dr Mahathir asked him to investigate the suitability of the suggested candidates and that on Dec 5, 2001, he proposed an alternative list.

The panel noted that although all the letters mentioned were classified Official Secrets, Lingam’s conversations in the clip, recorded on Dec 20, 2001, revealed he had intimate knowledge not only of the contents of the letters but also the plans to ensure that only their candidates would be chosen.

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