Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Video Clip
Encyclopedia
The Royal Commission of Inquiry Into the V.K. Lingam Video Clip was formed in late 2007 to investigate into an allegation of illegal intervention into the judicial appointment process of Malaysian judges purportedly occurred in 2002. The formation of the commission was a follow-up to a recommendation by a three-man panel which was tasked to determine the authenticity of a video clip of a telephone conversation that raised the allegation.
The allegation was first made public in September 2007 by former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim
who released a low quality video showing lawyer V.K. Lingam allegedly talking to former Chief Judge of Malaya Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim
about the appointment of the latter into the office of Chief Justice of the Federal Court. Ahmad Fairuz retired as the Chief Justice of the Federal Court in late 2007 after his tender was not renewed due to objection from the Conference of Rulers
.
began with the purpose of investigating the purported tampering in the appointment of judges following the release of a widely circulated (including on YouTube
) eight-minute video clip featuring what appears to be a well-connected senior lawyer, V.K. Lingam, purportedly discussing promotions and factionalism among senior judges over the phone with Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, the number 3 judge in the country at the time the clip was recorded on a mobile phone in 2002. Lingam is also seen apparently talking to Fairuz about the latter's own rise within the judiciary. At the time the video was released on 19 September 2007,
Ahmad Fairuz was already the Chief Justice of Malaysia
, but his four-year tenure as Chief Justice was due to expire 31 October 2007. His tenure was not extended, and his post was taken over by Abdul Hamid Mohamad. The lawyer is also heard saying that he had discussed the judiciary with tycoon Vincent Tan
and another prominent ruling party politician - both regarded as intermediaries to then-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. The conversation suggests that certain top judges are closely connected with the country's top leaders via political intermediaries and business cronies. The minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Nazri Abdul Aziz, has said that the judge implicated in the video clip had called him to deny that he was the one talking to the lawyer.
On 15 January 2008 the Royal Commission began their inquiry of a the video that alleges political interference in judicial appointments and the manipulation of high-profile cases. On 17 January 2008 Mahathir was brought before a Royal Commission that look the manipulation of top judicial appointments during his administration, a scandal that has cast doubts about the independence of Malaysia's judiciary. He was made to testify before a government inquiry into a secretly recorded video clip that showed a man believed to be a prominent lawyer, V. K. Lingam, boasting that he could get key judicial appointments made with Mahathir's help. Throughout the inquiry Mahathir feign ignorance and forgot key timelines. Continuing with the inquiries, former Chief Justice of Malaysia Tun Mohamed Eusoff Chin was called before the Commission whereby he denied he was a close acquaintance of the lawyer V.K. Lingam even though he took a vacation with him to New Zealand.
Lingam was also called before the Royal Commission, where he claim he did not recall the phone conversation he made to Ahmad Fairuz. He said he might have been drunk at that time and denied he had ever tried to influence judicial appointments. Vincent Tan
who was next was questioned about his influence on former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad and he denied that he ever discussed judicial appointments with Mahathir. He rebutted Mahathir's claims that he might have consulted with Tan over judicial appointments.
A new revelation appeared showing PKR President Anwar Ibrahim releasing a third video clip purportedly showing Lingam talking about having dinner with and buying an expensive gift for former Chief Justice Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah. Anwar said he was disappointed the Royal Commission which focused solely on the fixing of judges and did not allow evidence that court decisions had also been fixed. Anwar also claimed that there was a third video clip that implicated more judges in the judiciary.
and retired Court of Appeal Judge Mahadev Shankar
.
Members of the commission were appointed by Prime Minister
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
.
The allegation was first made public in September 2007 by former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar bin Ibrahim is a Malaysian politician who served as Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister from 1993 to 1998. Early in his career, Anwar was a close ally of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad but subsequently emerged as the most prominent critic of Mahathir's government.In 1999, he was sentenced...
who released a low quality video showing lawyer V.K. Lingam allegedly talking to former Chief Judge of Malaya Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim
Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim
Tun Ahmad Fairuz bin Sheikh Abdul Halim is the former Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Malaysia. A controversial figure, he held that position from 2003 to 2007. In August 2007, he courted controversy by suggesting the abolishment of English Common Law to be replaced by Islamic Syariah Law....
about the appointment of the latter into the office of Chief Justice of the Federal Court. Ahmad Fairuz retired as the Chief Justice of the Federal Court in late 2007 after his tender was not renewed due to objection from the Conference of Rulers
Conference of Rulers
The Conference of Rulers in Malaysia is a council comprising the nine rulers of the Malay states, and the governors or Yang di-Pertua Negeri of the other four states...
.
Proceedings
The Royal CommissionRoyal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
began with the purpose of investigating the purported tampering in the appointment of judges following the release of a widely circulated (including on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
) eight-minute video clip featuring what appears to be a well-connected senior lawyer, V.K. Lingam, purportedly discussing promotions and factionalism among senior judges over the phone with Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, the number 3 judge in the country at the time the clip was recorded on a mobile phone in 2002. Lingam is also seen apparently talking to Fairuz about the latter's own rise within the judiciary. At the time the video was released on 19 September 2007,
Ahmad Fairuz was already the Chief Justice of Malaysia
Chief Justice of Malaysia
The Chief Justice of Malaysia , also known as the Chief Justice of the Federal Court, is the office and title of the head of the Malaysian judiciary system. The title has been in use since 1994, and prior to this it was known as the Lord President of the Federal Court. The Chief Justice is the head...
, but his four-year tenure as Chief Justice was due to expire 31 October 2007. His tenure was not extended, and his post was taken over by Abdul Hamid Mohamad. The lawyer is also heard saying that he had discussed the judiciary with tycoon Vincent Tan
Vincent Tan
Tan Sri Dato' Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun Tan Sri Dato' Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun Tan Sri Dato' Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun (born 1952; ; is the current owner of Cardiff City F.C. and also is the Chairman and Chief Executive of Berjaya Corporation Berhad, which controls a wide array of businesses...
and another prominent ruling party politician - both regarded as intermediaries to then-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. The conversation suggests that certain top judges are closely connected with the country's top leaders via political intermediaries and business cronies. The minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Nazri Abdul Aziz, has said that the judge implicated in the video clip had called him to deny that he was the one talking to the lawyer.
On 15 January 2008 the Royal Commission began their inquiry of a the video that alleges political interference in judicial appointments and the manipulation of high-profile cases. On 17 January 2008 Mahathir was brought before a Royal Commission that look the manipulation of top judicial appointments during his administration, a scandal that has cast doubts about the independence of Malaysia's judiciary. He was made to testify before a government inquiry into a secretly recorded video clip that showed a man believed to be a prominent lawyer, V. K. Lingam, boasting that he could get key judicial appointments made with Mahathir's help. Throughout the inquiry Mahathir feign ignorance and forgot key timelines. Continuing with the inquiries, former Chief Justice of Malaysia Tun Mohamed Eusoff Chin was called before the Commission whereby he denied he was a close acquaintance of the lawyer V.K. Lingam even though he took a vacation with him to New Zealand.
Lingam was also called before the Royal Commission, where he claim he did not recall the phone conversation he made to Ahmad Fairuz. He said he might have been drunk at that time and denied he had ever tried to influence judicial appointments. Vincent Tan
Vincent Tan
Tan Sri Dato' Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun Tan Sri Dato' Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun Tan Sri Dato' Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun (born 1952; ; is the current owner of Cardiff City F.C. and also is the Chairman and Chief Executive of Berjaya Corporation Berhad, which controls a wide array of businesses...
who was next was questioned about his influence on former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad and he denied that he ever discussed judicial appointments with Mahathir. He rebutted Mahathir's claims that he might have consulted with Tan over judicial appointments.
A new revelation appeared showing PKR President Anwar Ibrahim releasing a third video clip purportedly showing Lingam talking about having dinner with and buying an expensive gift for former Chief Justice Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah. Anwar said he was disappointed the Royal Commission which focused solely on the fixing of judges and did not allow evidence that court decisions had also been fixed. Anwar also claimed that there was a third video clip that implicated more judges in the judiciary.
Terms of reference
The Commission had a specific scope it had to explore. The scope includes:- to certify the authenticity of the clip
- to identify the participants of the telephone conversation as well as persons mentioned in the conversation
- to ascertain the truth of the content of the conversation
- to determine whether the participants of the conversation as well as names mentioned committed any wrongdoing
- to recommend action against the participants of the conversation as well as names mentioned.
Membership
The 5-person commission was chaired by former Chief Judge of Malaya Haidar Mohamed Noor. The other four members were former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Steve Shim Lip Kiong, former Solicitor-General Zaitun Zawiyah Puteh, historian Khoo Kay KimKhoo Kay Kim
Tan Sri Khoo Kay Kim is a Malaysian Chinese historian and academic. He is currently an emeritus professor in the History Department of the University of Malaya.-Biography:...
and retired Court of Appeal Judge Mahadev Shankar
Mahadev Shankar
Datuk Mahadev Shankar is a prominent Malaysian lawyer and former Malaysian Court of Appeal Judge.He is currently serving as a member of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Video Clip to investigate into an allegation of illegal intervention into the judicial appointment process of...
.
Members of the commission were appointed by Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Malaysia
The Prime Minister of Malaysia is the indirectly elected head of government of Malaysia. He is officially appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the head of state, who in HM's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House of Representatives , the...
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Tun Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi is a Malaysian politician who served as Prime Minister from 2003 to 2009. He was also the President of the United Malays National Organisation , the largest political party in Malaysia, and led the governing Barisan Nasional parliamentary coalition...
.