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Lingam Tape – Abdullah should chair next Cabinet meeting to disband 3-man panel and set up RCI

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi must reconsider and set up urgently a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape scandal as the three-man panel chaired by Tan Sri Haidar Mohamed Noor, tainted by his role in the 1988 judicial crisis, is just untenable and unacceptable.

Haidar has still to satisfactorily account for his role in the infamous episode in the 1988 judicial crisis where as Supreme Court Chief Registrar, he locked the doors of the Supreme Court and concealed the Supreme Court seal to frustrate the course of justice and prevent the Supreme Court from issuing an injunction to stop the Judicial Tribunal from continuing with its proceedings to discipline the then Lord President Tun Salleh Abas — which also led to the subsequent expulsion of Datuk George Seah and the late Tan Sri Wan Suleiman Pawanteh as Supreme Court judges.

This unsavoury episode can be found both in Salleh Abas’ “May Day for Justice” as well as “Freedom under Executive Power in Malaysia” by the Minister for Culture, Arts and Heritage, Datuk Dr. Rais Yatim, who was formerly Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of law and justice.

However, an even more important consideration as to why there must be a Royal Commission of Inquiry is that the issue which has shattered public confidence and caused the “March for Justice” of some 2,000 lawyers last Wednesday was not just the Lingam Tape, but the even more important issue of the independence, impartiality and integrity of the judiciary and the rot in the system of justice since 1988.

University of Malaya law lecturer Azmi Sharom put it very well when he wrote in his Star column today “Judiciary must be protected”:

Our judiciary has not been in the pink of health, especially since the sacking of Tun Salleh Abbas as Lord President in 1988.
Since then the impartiality, the independence and the basic honesty of the judiciary have been questioned time and time again.

Two major concerns are the method by which judges are appointed and related to this, the vital question as to whether the judiciary is truly free from executive interference. These are fears that strike to the heart of a democratic system.
Without the checks and balances that having three separate branches of government — the executive, the legislature and the judiciary — provides, one cannot say that there is a true democracy.

And one cannot say with any certainty that the law will protect the citizens from any sort of despotic behaviour.

This sad lack of faith in the judicial system (which is the penultimate defender of democracy and the citizenry) has been with us for nearly 20 years.

There has been much talk, but this time the lawyers decided that a physical show of their disapproval was needed. Why did this happen?

Well, the straw that broke the barristers’ back is the infamous videotape showing a senior lawyer on the phone with, apparently, a senior judge. This lawyer can be seen and heard discussing how he was trying to broker the appointment of said judge to the highest judicial post in the country.

Suddenly what has been the subject of talk and whispers has taken solid form, to be viewed again and again on our own computer screens.

The appointment of judges has been reduced to tawdry politicking and power play involving politicians and wealthy businessmen. It was too much to bear. And the legal fraternity had to take to the streets or lose its own credibility.

Their demand is simple. The government has to set up a Royal Commission with the necessary powers to thoroughly investigate the entire judiciary. There is a desperate need to clean house and to do so comprehensively.

The decision for a three-man panel over the authenticity of the Lingam Tape is bad and wrong and will redound to the discredit of the Abdullah administration, which has pledged reform and integrity.

It is not too late for Abdullah to undo the harm which the bad decision over the three-man panel can do both to the judiciary and the nation in terms of adversely affecting our international competitiveness.

Heed the wisdom of what Azmi wrote — that apart from the legitimacy or the video recording, a Royal Commission is needed now to determine the legitimacy of the entire judiciary!

Abdullah was not present at the Cabinet meeting last Wednesday as he had left for the United Nations although the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the establishment of the three-man panel the day before the Cabinet met.

Abdullah should chair the Cabinet meeting next Wednesday to take the right and proper decision to disband the three-man panel and replace it with a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape scandal and the entire issue of the independence, impartiality and integrity of the judiciary. This would be a decision which would receive all-round support, both nationally and internationally.

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31 Replies to “Lingam Tape – Abdullah should chair next Cabinet meeting to disband 3-man panel and set up RCI”

  2. All eyes are waiting too see how they wiggle out of this.

    By the way, don’t lose sight of the PKFZ4.6B;the 6 patrol boats & the poor Mongolian ….
    Anyone has a comprehensive “to watch list”? I want to put it up my BRIGHT-I blog.
    Thanks!

  3. The agenda for the next cabinet meeting:

    1. How to ensure that the videoclip will never be authenticated.
    2. How to tell the mainstream press to suppress further publicity.
    3. How to intimidate those from the Opposition who have made publicity capital from the videoclip.
    4. Track down the whistleblower and ask him/her for a price.

    That’s what I would do if I were the leader of the den of thieves. Transparency can never been in their vocabulary.

  4. The 3-member Independent Panel might have additional task. The PKR youth information chief Lau Tek Hai said additional to the eight minute clip would be revealed at the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) base in Taman Melewar here tonight (Sep 29 07) 9.30pm by Anwar. More details an what the panel members said about the Video Clip at

    http://powerpresent.blogspot.com/2007/09/anwar-more-video-clip-release-sep-29-07.html
    and also watch Ms Wafa Sultan, an Arab-American psychologist from Los Angeles on the clash of – Muslim & non-Muslim

  5. YB,

    I fully agree with you and everyone else here, that we need, as a minimum first step, a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI).

    But I fear, as a layperson, that even after the miracle happens, that an RCI is indeed set up, that there are still so many areas that can go wrong.

    E.g. in the best case scenario, assuming the RCI comes out with the most damning criticism of the current judicial system, and provides a long list of recommendations for changes, who will be in charge in implementing all the recommendations? The PM and his cronies?

    Even under this miraculous situation, those in power with vested interests to protect will still try their best to wriggle their way out of it. They will seek, find and take every edge they can get. And we all know the limitations of the written word. The world is not short of creative minds, constantly finding creative solutions, that goes outside the intention of the writers.

    The root cause is the honesty and integrity of our PM and the people below him. The PM can talk about honesty and integrity at the start or before his term, but at this advance stage – 4 years of administration – where he faces so many critical issues, he cannot continue to talk without the walk. I am dissappointed that I am not observing him walking his talk.

    In the most successful global organizations, those who don’t walk the talk are quickly eliminated. If Malaysia truly wants to be the best country it can ever be, she needs to quickly eliminate PMs who are ineffective, and worse, without honesty, integrity and good moral character. A PM who is clever, intelligent, hardworking is useless to a nation if he has no integrity and good moral character. His cleverness, intelligence, hardworking is merely used to assist and promote corruption and personal gains. There can be no substitute for integrity and good moral character for our leaders.

    The people will have a real decision to make in this upcoming election. The opposition must provide real choices in alternative leaders. We must make every vote count.

    Our current government has a long history of corruption that is undeniable. The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing (vote BN), and expecting a different result (corruptions cease). Let’s hope the Oppositions can do a better job this time, to help the Rakyat wake up from their insane lives and past insane decisions.

    Old observer.

  6. A RCI is certainly the best way to clear the IF the authorities are really serious about upholding the Judiciary’s good name but look at what happened to the IPCMC.

    We must all do more to protect the Judiciary against manipulations by anyone, including the government.

    For a start you can sign the petition being organised by the lawyer Haris Ibrahim and also take the poll on my site.

    http://malaysiawatch3.blogspot.com/2007/09/dont-just-depend-on-lawyers-or.html

  8. Najib Razak, by very quickly announcing the establishment of the three-man panel, certainly has an axe to grind – to ensure that the legacy of TDM continues to flourish, i.e., to put up a show that something is being done to seek the truth when really the truth is not to seek the truth (which is already known among those from the executive), and the judiciary continues to be controlled by and to serve the executive. Democrary ala TDM’s style.

    “Truth exists, only falsehood has to be invented.” Georges Braque.

    Now we wonder when a person swears in our court to speak “the truth, nothing but the truth”, what does this mean to our judges? Especially tainted judges!

  9. Dear Ahmad Badawi, our PM for all races.. “transparency and integrity will be my core trust”. Hi these were words that propelled you to the biggest victory.. “I am not the PM for the Malays.. but for all Malaysian citizens”. Kindly put these words into action..

    We hope that after your travel to UN you have comeback with renewed wisdom. Do what is good for you. Let the people judge you for wisdom you have compared to TDM. You are a man of religion at heart. Advice the King.. have a royal commission clean up the judiciary. At least when you go on trial with Kamaluddin & KJ you have a judiciary you can be sure is of the highest integrity.

  10. “….//…Abdullah was not present at the Cabinet meeting last Wednesday as he had left for the United Nations although the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the establishment of the three-man panel the day before the Cabinet met…Abdullah should chair the Cabinet meeting next Wednesday to take the right and proper decision to disband the three-man panel and replace it with a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape scandal.//…” – YB LKS.
    So the decision on the 3 man panel “chaired by Tan Sri Haidar Mohamed Noor, tainted by his role in the 1988 judicial crisis” was not exactly the PM’s? (However according to NST’s report of September 29, 2007, “Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the decision to establish the panel was made after discussions with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi”. Is it true?

    This raises issues relating to accountability. Are there some important decisions – and often quite wrong and reactionary ones at that – being principally made by the No. 2 for which the No. 1 just subsequently went along?

    It may legitimately be enquired : Who is in charge? Who is trying to be in charge ? And who is trying to usurp control ?

    It has happened before. When NST published the “Non Sequitur comic strip by Wiley Miller” the cabinet’s decision to require the NST to ‘show-cause’ why action ought not to be taken against it was made when No. 2 was presiding the cabinet, which upon return of the PM, NST’ predicament was diffused by an issuance of a simple apology. Even the reaffirmation of the country being an “Islamic State” was made by No. 2 which No. 1 later indirectly contradicted by saying that the country was neither secular nor Islamic and later vacillating back to the country being an Islamic state….

    Was the cabinet decision to withdraw subsidies for fuel principally influenced by No. 2, who is also Chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Fuel? Just as in the case of the cabinet’s decision in Jan 2007 to inflate the RM 5.35 billion contract to build naval vessels awarded in the 1990s to Amin Shah’s PSC-Naval Dockyard Sdn Bhd to that of RM 6.75 billion and waiver of penalty of RM 214 million for late delivery by the contractor, for which the Auditor General could find no justification?

    It is interesting to look into the extent of “power sharing” going on between the top 2 but the number 1 must remember that ultimately the buck stops at his feet and he is answerable to rakyat.

    The general rule of the thumb in any organisation, including corporation, responsibility is hand and glove to power to decide. One does not share power and yet have to account and be responsible for the wrong decisions of others.

    I shall let our earlier commenter, straight talk, say the last word “We hope that after your travel to UN you have comeback with renewed wisdom”.

  11. “Heed the wisdom of what Azmi wrote – that apart from the legitimacy or the video recording, a Royal Commission is needed now to determine the legitimacy of the entire judiciary”

    This I believe is the reason why a Royal Commission of Inquiry would never be set up. A more practical way from the PM’s point of view woud be to ease those involved towards an early retirement for ‘health reasons’. The CJ should be retired when his term ends.

    But does that do anything to reform the judicial system?

  14. “That’s what I would do if I were the leader of the den of thieves. Transparency can never been in their vocabulary.” – Godfather

    Coming from someone who insulted the religion of another, this is indeed ‘refreshing’.

  15. This Prime Minister is definitely not in control, and he’s very irresponsible too. With so many serious problems popping up every day and the country is rotting by the hour, how could he still be happily making trips abroad with his new wife?

    If this guy has some cow sense, he should have cancelled his trip to the UN, stay home to clear the mess, not that he is badly needed in UN! How could he have ignored something that serious, to have the nation’s 2000 lawyers braved the rain and took to the streets for “Walk for Justice” !

  18. “I have been fair, I want to be fair, I’ll always be fair”

    The fella’s just refering to the tons of SKII skin products he has purchased to make his dark skin a bit fairer in order to impress Jean

  19. Yes I think the PM should stay home and use whatever authority and powers he can muster to clear up the terrible stench in his own back yard.

    In the UN, Malaysia probably ranks 100 in terms of what influence she wields to make things happen.

    And of course his speech at the GA will probably wear out the audience.

  20. I can,t wait for the whole 15 mins of the tape to be shown.Anwar is not stupid to doctor the tape..He and the rest of the opposition parties has alot to lose..

    This issue will open a whole can of worms for the UMNO led goverment.All the cases handled by LIMGAM and FAIRUZ will now come under question.

    PAK LAH ,must not run away from this issue,The 3 men panel must also work with out fear or favor , because their reputation is also at stake..

  21. Malaysians still remember this Prime Minister’s 2003 GE rhetorics “Work with me, not for me”? Where is he now when he is needed most? He should stop burying his head in the sad but to face the rakyat and clear the stinking mess.

    Indeed we have short memories and are a forgiving lot. We forgave him for not up to the job because Endon was sick, then we were most understanding, excused him when he was in grief, but he surprised us with his new bride not long after. Now it looks as if his honeymoon is never-ending!

    Should we tax-paying rakyat continue to foot his average twice monthly overseas trips, stand watch and do nothing at all? Or we request that he retires and spend his honeymoon on his own pension?

  26. undergrad2 Says:

    September 29th, 2007 at 22: 33.21
    “The CJ should be retired when his term ends. But does that do anything to reform the judicial system?”

    Fortunately, you asked : “But does that do anything to reform the judicial system?” Condonation of injustice and judicial rot at the highest level is akin to whitewashing a termite-infested woodwork. But in this case the cracks are so patently visible, no amount of whitewash will be able to cover the gross rot. Besides, you know how the termite’s trail goes deep and wide into the system. So, nothing short of raking up the festering planks would do. It’s cancer, man. You need surgery plus radiation of the intense kind.

    Now the woprld knows where we come from in terms of world class, there is nothing left to hide. Just be humble and begin the janitorial work. Someday, we will still be able to face the world. Right or not, PM and DPM?

  27. Read the comments of the ACA Director-General in the Sun today. He basically said that the law provides for the need for the ACA to seek clearance from the AG’s Chambers or else any investigation (without ACA clearance) may be void.

    In other words, the ACA reports to the AG’s Chambers, which cannot possibly be the intention of our founding fathers.

  29. “It’s cancer, man. You need surgery plus radiation of the intense kind.’ ENDANGERED HORNBILL

    The problem?? The problem is in trying to get rid of cancerous cells, radiation also kills the healthy cells in the process – and the patient may die as a result.

    A Tribunal is a double edge sword. If subsequently a high moral standard is applied and it is found that many judges are unfit for some reason or reasons to hold office, a purge would deny the judiciary of much needed talent. What next??

  30. A recent interview with retired judges reveal that the cause which has led to the ‘rot’ is because the practice of referring the appointment of judges to the Bar Council and senior lawyers was not followed as in the past. Instead of just submitting a number of names for the PM to consider in the case of the appointment of the CJ or Lord President, only one name is submitted.

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