The welcome for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s announcement of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Lingam Tape scandal will have to be conditional as there is disturbing indication that it will be a very restricted and circumscribed inquiry denied the task to resolve the long-standing national and international crisis of confidence in the independence and integrity of the judiciary which had gone from bad to worse for nearly two decades.
It is most unusual and not a very good sign that Abdullah’s announcement of a royal commission came solely from a Bernama report instead of a proper media conference before a battery of local and foreign journalists.
Abdullah had stumbled from one faux pax to another in the mishandling of the Lingam Tape scandal, taking two full months to arrive at the decision to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry, when such a decision should have been made right from the very beginning when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim made public the first eight minutes of the 14-minute Lingam Tape if the Prime Minister had been serious with his pledges of integrity and a trustworthy government, two of the ten principles of Islam Hadhari.
Abdullah said in the Bernama report that the Cabinet had decided at its last meeting on Wednesday to set up the royal commission and the Cabinet will decide next Wednesday on the commission’s terms of reference. The members of the royal commission will be determined after its terms of reference were finalized.
Something is clearly amiss, which does not reflect well on the Cabinet with regard to the professionalism, competence or high standards of the Cabinet decision-making process.
For 55 hours after the Cabinet meeting, i.e. Wednesday to Friday until the Bernama report released at 7.01 pm yesterday, Malaysians were told that every Cabinet Minister would be provided with a copy of the Haider Report to study so that the Cabinet next Wednesday can decide whether a Royal Commission should be established.
If the Cabinet had already taken the decision last Wednesday to establish a Royal Commission — as disclosed by Abdullah yesterday – then what is the purpose of giving all Cabinet Ministers a week’s homework to read the Haider Report?
In fact, what is the purpose of setting up a three-man Ministerial Committee, comprising three senior Cabinet Ministers, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad and Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim to give the “legal perspective” — which, in any event, should be before and not after the decision to set up a Royal Commission!
I had been baffled when Nazri had told the press on Thursday that the three ministers tasked with looking into the Haider Report will not meet, and neither will they consult or correlate their findings before Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, wondering how this Nazri Ministerial Committee was going to function or operate. Now, I understand, as there is nothing for it to function, so nothing to meet when the Cabinet has already decided to establish a Royal Commission!
The MCA Youth was extraordinarily courageous yesterday when after its 14th MCA Youth Central Committee meeting yesterday, the MCA Youth leader, Datuk Liow Tiong Lai summoned a press conference to call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape. But this was apparently two days after the Cabinet had decided to set up such a Royal Commission! What courage!
The question that pops up immediately is why the Prime Minister has not made public the Haider Panel Report when the Cabinet has already made the decision to set up a Royal Commission.
I am doubly concerned however whether the Royal Commission that Abdullah has in mind will be a serious response from the government to get to the root of the Lingam Tape scandal and the important corollary issue of the long-standing crisis of confidence in the independence and integrity of the judiciary, or a charade just to try to shut up rising public clamour for government action on the Lingam Tape scandal.
My first concern stemmed from a comment by Nazri after Abdullah’s announcement of a Royal Commission reported by Utusan Malaysia, where he said: “Penubuhan suruhanjaya ini tidak ada kaitan dengan persoalan mahu mengembalikan kredibiliti badan kehakiman. Sebaliknya, penubuhan suruhanjaya ini adalah cara bagi mengenal pasti dan mengambil tindakan terhadap mana-mana pihak yang didapati bersalah.”
Nazri cannot be more wrong. The core objective of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape must be to restore public confidence in the judiciary. If this is not the overriding agenda, then why have a Royal Commission of Inquiry at all?
If the Royal Commission is to be estopped from probing into the deep-seated causes for the crisis of judiciary which had rocked the country for close to two decades, and which had again been brought to national and global limelight by the Lingam Tape, and to make recommendations for the immediate and effective restoration of national and international confidence in the independence and integrity of the judiciary, then I must forewarn the Prime Minister that such a Royal Commission of Inquiry would be a complete let-down, utterly useless and totally unacceptable.
This gives rise to my second concern. If its terms of reference are going to be so restrictive and unacceptable, then it is unlikely that public hopes and expectations of credible, legitimate and eminent Malaysians being appointed as Commissioners would be met.
This is about the best chance for the PM to walk his talk.
Let us see.
http://malaysiawatch3.blogspot.com/2007/11/wrong-about-judiciary-fixing-tapes.html
This is like Hitler agreeing to set up a Nazi committee to investigate the genocide of Jews in his death camps
Every apparently positive move by the Gomen has to go with the usual expected BUT-ter. You can’t expect a clean deal which is actually on the level.
This dim witted PM has the habit of running round the mulberry bush.
He buys time.He plays with time. He is weak. He is indecisive. He fears his own shadow. He is plain dumb.
Hi Uncle Kit,
Glad of making my debut here. Imminent to role of the Royal Commission of Inquiry, I am in high view that it must comprised eminent panelists whom are profound with law. And if the goverment is really serious in choosing the panelists, public opinion is at best in resorting whom are best deemed unbiased, qualified, and must not be subjected to eminence grise which in this case, I would be choosing Al Gore anytime of the day.
When PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi appeared in TV while talking about the formation of RCI, he looked like in a dazed state, mumbling words hardly audible to the reporters who stood a little far away from him.
He looked like a child who was denied the sweets that he crazed for, dejected!
So, are we getting the right RCI with right members and right terms of reference??
There is doubt. But there is no choice to the governing parties because the new mandate will be sought in the imminent general election as glaringly hinted by the Election Commission Head.
YB LKS:
“Abdullah had stumbled from one faux pax to another in the mishandling of the Lingam Tape scandal, taking two full months to arrive at the decision to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry…”
Stumbling? It’s more like he’s been tripping up every time he lifts his legs except when he is overseas holidays!
Beatles’ song:
“(He) was a day tripper….
I said I’ll take the easy way out, huh…
I said I got a good reason now, huh…
I’m gonna take the easy way out, huh…
I found out, I found out…”
“………….if the Prime Minister had been serious with his pledges of integrity and a trustworthy government, two of the ten principles of Islam Hadhari……………..”
Let that man with no sin cast the first stone…….I doubt if YB could cast the first stone besides every minister has a can of worms
Doubt that would happen (the election of three fair people) – there is bound to be one/two elected that is pro-Govt. We have to be ready to face the reality of the situation. Anwar should be very careful with his video in light of this RCI panel to be elected.
Wat Bodowi is trying to do is just a gimmick to silence the opposition and to fool the public in order to gain votes!
Go to hell, Bodowi!
“We have agreed to set up the commission.” PM
Then he does some mental gymnastics of his own when he follows that up with his statement that the Ministerial committee tasked to study further the Haider Report will submit their report to the Cabinet Wednesday!
Like I always maintain this Prime Minister who is head of the executive branch long fancies himself as a head of state, announcing policies and then allowing his deputy the de facto head of the executive branch together with the Cabinet to do the work.
Undergrad2,
Do you know the difference between head of state and head of government? Don’t simply use terms that you only have vague ideas. Be more specific just like you want me to be.
Yes, we all know that they will try their utmost to bend the RCI. They know that a true independent RCI on the judiciary will create problems for UMNO, possibly many. Even a intellectually mediocre Badawi can see this a mile away.
Badawi obviously don’t know what to do which is why he is shuffling things here and there to get someone else to make the decisions for him.
Sdr. Lim is right in comming up with concrete suggestions on the RCI including who should be on it, what would be their breath and scope. Because its only by calling for the highest standards and widest role and power that we can get something significant out of it even if we will never get all that should be.m
Our OKT pf MCA said he welocmes the setting up of RCI as announced by the PM.
Why in the first place, he dare not suggest to have it set up?
Typical parrot and tape-recording act.
I think the next one to follow would be none other than KTK of Gerakan.
Don’t forget that apart from UMNO all other parties must get a cue before they have a clue on what is acceptable.
The former Lord President is right in claiming that since it was the Executive that emasculated the Judiciary, only the Executive can restore it to the highest standards that can help the nation progress.
The RCI should have a broad scope to look into all areas so that any weakness will be addressed soon.
http://malaysiawatch3.blogspot.com/2007/11/there-is-much-wisdom-from-former-lord.html
//He buys time.He plays with time. He is weak. He is indecisive. He fears his own shadow. He is plain dumb.’//
He is not a leader of men. Period.
“Do you know the difference between head of state and head of government? Don’t simply use terms that you only have vague ideas. Be more specific just like you want me to be.” limkamput
You are not even smart to begin with obviously. By head of state Undergrad could only mean the “Agong” or the “Malay Sultan”. Abdullah Badawi acts more like he is head of state, leaving the day to day duties to his deputy who then becomes (unfortunately for Malaysians) the de facto head of the executive branch. He didn’t even bother to make regular appearances in Parliament – leaving his deputy to do that.
RCI of the Lingam tape?!! It is the IPCMC repeated all over again. Don’t hold your breadth waiting for it to happen. By now we all should know AAB the “NATO” man. Just as he had failed to keep his election promises on wiping out corruption and setting up the IPCMC, he would do the same with this RCI.
I believe he was merely making a statement to appease the public for the imminent GE and to prevent the Opposition from making use of this tape in the GE. If the tape was made in 2002, he was Deputy PM then and could not escape some degree of culpability for the rot that the judiciary has sunk to. DSAI has announced he still has portions of the tape yet unreleased. AAB is not sure what they are. It could be explosive even for him. He cannot take chances. By announcing the RCI and taking his own sweet time with the setting up, he can defuse much of the venom of the tape and dragged it on past the GE thus minimising its effect.
“Like I always maintain this prime Minister who is head of the executive branch long fancies himself as a head of state, announcing policies and allowing his deputy the de facto head of the executive branch together with the cabinet to do the work.”.undergrad2.
“Undergrad2,
Do you know the difference between the head of state and head of government? Don’t simply use term that you only have vague ideas.Be more specific like you want me to be.”. limkamput.
Referring to the above I can tell undergrad 2 means what he says and says what he means. Limkamput,I don’t see why you are so puzzled and only reason I can come up with is perhaps your inability to deal with nuances in the English language and my god I thought you are from cambridge!
“Limkamput,I don’t see why you are so puzzled and only reason I can come up with is perhaps your inability to deal with nuances in the English language and my god I thought you are from cambridge!” AhPek
To read the name “limkamput” in the same sentence as Cambdridge gives me the shudders! I feel the need to puke all over him.
The guy just cannot stand being in the midst of the likes of Lee Wang Yeng who is doing his PhD and lecturing at the same time in a University ranked second in the world by THES.
He has a huge ego but a pea for a brain.