Saturday, May 3, 2008

Royal Commission on Lingam video clip: Panel to submit report by May 11 - NST

PUTRAJAYA: May 3, 2008

The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the controversial Lingam video clip will submit its report to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong by May 11, nearly three months after oral hearing came to an end.

Commission secretary Datuk Abdullah Sani Abd Hamid said the commission was waiting for a date to present it to the king.

The commission was scheduled to present the report to the king by March 11 but sought two extensions to complete its work.

It is up the government to decide whether to make the report public.

The inquiry, which took 17 days, began on Jan 14 and ended on Feb 15 after 21 witnesses took the stand.

The clip basically shows a man, who some claim to be Datuk V.K. Lingam, engaged in a conversation over judicial appointments with someone who could be a top judge.

The person in the video had mentioned several people including former minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan and retired chief justices Tun Mohamed Eusoff Chin and Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah in the conversation.

Loh Gwo Burne, a consultant, testified before the commission that he had filmed the tape at Lingam's family home in Kelana Jaya.

Gwo Burne's father, Mui Fah, testified that the clip was recorded by his son on Dec 20, 2001, when they went to Lingam's house to discuss family legal matters.

Mui Fah told the commission that Lingam informed him that the person on the other line was Datuk Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, then chief judge of Malaya.

Ahmad Fairuz, who rose to become chief justice, retired in November last year.

The lawyer denied having talked to Ahmad Fairuz over the phone.

Lingam also refused to deny or confirm that he was the man in the clip, saying only that "he looks and sounds like me".

On Nov 16 last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced the setting up of the commission and a month later the composition of the panel was revealed.

Retired chief judge of Malaya Tan Sri Haidar Mohamed Noor is the chairman with the rest of the panel comprising former chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Amar Steve Shim Lip Kiong, retired Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mahadev Shankar, retired solicitor-general Puan Sri Zaitun Zawiyah Puteh and Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Khoo Kay Kim.

During the hearing, lawyers appearing for interested parties attempted to disqualify the commissioners on grounds of bias and conflict of interest but failed.

No comments: