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Lingam Tape – Another “Three No’s” to Haider Panel’s “Five No’s”

How pathetic! After three weeks, no one has come forward to give information to the Haidar Panel on the Lingam Tape!

This itself speaks louder than anything about the confidence the Haidar Panel commands among the Malaysian public concerning its credibility, independence, authority and legitimacy — which is zero!

The Haidar Panel has proved to be very “creative” in interpreting its month-long duration to complete its narrow term of reference to establish the authenticity of the Lingam Tape from Sept. 27 to 30 working days rather than 30 calender days — stretching its tenure to November 8, after the retirement of Tun Ahmad Fairuz as Chief Justice unless he gets an extension.

The Haidar Panel had started with the infamous “Five No’s” — no power to administer oaths, no power to compel witnesses to come forward, no power to commit anybody for contempt, no power to provide immunity and no power to protect witnesses.

It appears to have acquired another Three No’s after three weeks – not knowing whether Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz was at end of the phone, not knowing whether senior lawyer V.T. Lingam who appeared in the tape was the real one and not knowing whether the video clip is genuine!

We are now told that the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) is sending the Lingam Tape to experts in Hong Kong to determine its authenticity.

Why did the ACA waste one whole month since the public expose of the Lingam Tape by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Sept. 19 before seeking expert help to determine its authenticity? Continue reading “Lingam Tape – Another “Three No’s” to Haider Panel’s “Five No’s””

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Landmark RM2.5 million damages ISA decision – AG should make policy decision not to appeal

The Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail should take the policy decision not to appeal against the landmark decision yesterday by High Court judge Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus in awarding Abdul Malek Hussin RM2.5 million in damages for having been unlawfully arrested, detained and beaten up while in police custody in 1998.

In ruling that Abdul Malek had succeeded in suing former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Noor, a police officer and the Government, Hishamudin said “The behaviour of the defendants is inhumane, cruel and despicable, as the plaintiff was not just arrested and detained unlawfully for 57 days but was also subjected to a vile assault, unspeakable humiliation, prolonged physical and mental ill-treatment”.

A policy decision by the Attorney-General not to appeal against the Hishamuddin judgment will set a shining example and send a clear message that the era of human rights has arrived in Malaysia and the police and all public servants must respect human rights.

A decision by Gani Patail to appeal against the Hishamudin decision can only mean that the Attorney-General himself and the government he represents is yet to “walk the talk” of respect for human rights and is still condoning human right violations by the police and public servants — making nonsense not only of the establishment of Suhakam but also of Malaysia’s calls for respect for human rights in international forums, including the recent statements of outrage by Malaysian leaders at the human rights violations and atrocities by the Myanmar military junta in the brutal suppression of the “saffron revolution” in Burma.

The Hishammuddin judgment had been long in coming, as human rights abuses in the form of physical violence and other forms of torture had been common treatment meted out to ISA as well as non-ISA detainees — which must be condemned in no uncertain terms and stopped forthwith. Continue reading “Landmark RM2.5 million damages ISA decision – AG should make policy decision not to appeal”

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Challenge to Ahmad Fairuz – resign as Chief Justice if there is proof he lied and misled Nazri in misleading Parliament with his denial as having advocated abolition of Common Law in August

Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim’s application for six-month extension as Chief Justice should be rejected as he has brought the judiciary into greater disrepute and a new crisis of confidence in the 55 months he was the highest judicial officer of the land.

In fact, in the past month Ahmad Fairuz had gone into hiding since the Lingam Tape expose by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim exactly a month ago, after the Chief Justice was implicated in the latest judicial scandal involving the perversion of the course of justice concerning the fixing of judicial appointments and court decisions — making total nonsense of the important principle of judicial accountability.

It is most scandalous that Ahmad Fairuz had not come out publicly to personally and categorically issue a denial of his involvement in the Lingam Tape scandal and had chosen instead to rely on the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz to bat for him and claim that Ahmad Fairuz had phoned him to deny that he was the one talking to Lingam.

Firstly, in depending on a Cabinet Minister to “clear” his name, Ahmad Fairuz had undermined the doctrine of the separation of powers and the important principle of the independence of the judiciary, making the Chief Justice and the head of the Judiciary subservient and beholden to the “favours” of a Cabinet Minister who is from the Executive.

Secondly, the “proxy” denial of Ahmad Fairuz through Nazri lacks credibility, as he had used this stratagem once to deny what he had actually advocated – the abolition of the English common law. Continue reading “Challenge to Ahmad Fairuz – resign as Chief Justice if there is proof he lied and misled Nazri in misleading Parliament with his denial as having advocated abolition of Common Law in August”