The nub of Tun Dr. Mahathir’s response to the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Video Tape scandal – whose finding can be summed up as “He looks like Lingam, he sounds like Lingam, he is Lingam!” – is that the offensive is the best defence.
As shown by the following press report, Mahathir is not putting up any defence that he has done no wrong but the ominous rebuttal that others, including judges were even more guilty than him if what he had done was deemed to be wrong or criminal. And he appeared to be implicating the former judges on the Lingam Video Tape Royal Commission of Inquiry.
As Prime Minister for 22 years, it is both pathetic and tragic Mahathir failed to see that while it is commonplace to lobby for appointments to be Ministers and Deputy Ministers, it is just not acceptable for any lobbying to be done for judicial appointments or promotions.
This is why the Judicial Appointments Commission must be set up immediately, which must affect every new judicial appointment and promotion including that of the next new Chief Justice, with the highest judicial office falling vacant in five months’ time in October.
The Prime Minister’s decisions on the appointment and promotion of judges must be based on the recommendations of the Judicial Appointment Commission.
Sunday Star
May 18, 2008
Dr M: Take me to court
By FARIK ZOLKEPLI and GLADYS TAY
JOHOR BARU: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is prepared to be charged in court so that he can reveal many things about the judiciary.
“By charging me in court, I will have the opportunity to explain many things that the judges did, including lobbying,” Dr Mahathir said.
“I hope the investigation will not end with no case. In that case, I will have no opportunity to explain what had happened.
“I want to tell about the judges who had come to me to lobby. If lobbying is wrong, then these judges should be probed,” he said when commenting on the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry. It held there was evidence that he, lawyer Datuk V.K. Lingam, tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan, Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and former chief justices Tun Eusoff Chin and Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim were involved in a conspiracy to manipulate the appointment of judges.
The Cabinet had agreed with the commission’s recommendation that the A-G’s Chambers investigate allegations against the six.
Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad Dr Mahathir said he would also suggest for more such commissions, including one to investigate Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should he (Dr Mahathir) get his day in court.
“In England, they investigated (former British Prime Minister Tony) Blair, and he was forced to step down,” he told pressmen after attending a forum and dialogue on the recent general elections organised by Johor Umno grassroots and MYKMU.NET here yesterday.
He explained that many had lobbied to become ministers and deputy ministers but the appointments were based on his own assessment of the candidates.
“If I feel a person should be appointed, then I will appoint him. I will not appoint a person if I don’t feel he is qualified, even if a judge suggested he be appointed,” he said, adding that Lingam could not fix the appointment of judges but only claimed that he could.