Royal commission report on Lingam video presents a dilemma for Abdullah Badawi.
KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 — Tengku Adnan Mansor is livid, contemplating resigning as the secretary-general of Umno. Some party officials are upset with party-owned newspapers for breaking the Cabinet embargo and parading two party stalwarts – Tengku Adnan and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad – like members of a rogue’s gallery.
And most party members are swinging between nonchalance and ambivalence over the explosive contents of the Royal Commission Enquiry’s report on the V.K. Lingam video clip. So while many in Malaysia are celebrating the candour of the commissioners in identifying Lingam, former chief justices Tun Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim and Tun Eusoff Chin, businessman Tan Sri Vincent Tan, Tengku Adnan and Dr Mahathir as members of an "insidious movement" that influenced the appointment and promotion of judges in the late 1990s, the response in Umno is one of disquiet.
In their minds, the enquiry into the video clip only served to diminish the standing of the government and the ruling party among Malaysians and was a key factor in the rise of the Opposition in Election 2008. Professor Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, a political commentator, noted: "To Umno members, the Royal Commission is about Anwar exacting revenge against Mahathir. The report is not really relevant to them."
An Umno MP added: "The feeling in the party is that the government should have never entertained the idea of setting up the commission. Members cannot understand why it is so important and they are upset that Dr Mahathir is being implicated...That is why the PM has to walk a fine line of meeting the public’s demand for a thorough investigation into the state of an important institution and the party’s demand of protecting its own."
Appear too exuberant about the commission’s report and he will be punished by party members who still have not forgotten his role in the election debacle. Appear disinterested in the commission’s findings and he will be slammed by the public who still remain unsure if he can be the reformer of Malaysia.
The video clip of Lingam speaking to the Ahmad Fairuz in 2001 on judge fixing was disclosed by de facto Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim last year. It created a buzz and put the government on the defensive. To find out if the tape was authentic and contents of the conversation were real, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s government convened a three-man panel to investigate the matter.
The panel recommended the setting up of the Royal Commission. In its report which was made public on Friday, the five-member commission said that based on evidence and witness accounts, it confirmed that the Indian man in the video clip was Lingam and that he was conspiring on the telephone with the Ahmad Fairuz on the appointment and promotion of judges.
They also said that Tengku Adnan and Vincent Tan were key fixers in this scheme where candidates for the judiciary suggested by the then Chief Justice Tun Dzaiddin Abdullah were tossed aside in favour of names who would be friendly to them and the government headed by Dr Mahathir.
The commission noted that Dr Mahathir did not follow the constitutional process of consulting with the CJ before appointing or promoting judges. It recommended that the Attorney-General consider investigating all the main players in this episode under the Penal Code, the Sedition Act, the Official Secrets Act and the Legal Profession Act.
But even before the Cabinet decided that the report could be made public it caused disquiet within Umno. The decision by the New Straits Times and Berita Harian – papers owned by Umno – to publish front-page reports on Friday angered Tengku Adnan, Dr Mahathir and their supporters.
Tengku Adnan’s supporters felt that as secretary-general of the party he should have been afforded better protection by the party leadership and wonder why newspaper affiliated to Umno led the way in lynching him. Was there a hidden agenda or was it an editorial decision by the newspaper to regain some ground after being scooped by The Star?
The government has moved to dismiss talk of a conspiracy by lodging police reports against the newspapers and tracking the source of the leak.
In any case, the party secretary-general is angry. And that is not good news for Abdullah. Tengku Adnan has been a key player in helping Abdullah silence critics who were calling for his resignation following the March general election.
By all accounts the PM had managed to strengthen his position on the ground by mapping out a succession plan and seemed a strong bet to defend his position as the party president in December. But the commission’s findings and the public’s desire to see some blood could unsettle this fine equilibrium in Umno.
Abdullah has tried to straddle the middle ground. His Cabinet has ordered that the report be made public while urging Malaysians to allow the AG to complete his investigations into the commission’s recommendation and not prejudge anyone.
"Don't make it an issue, or use it as an avenue to make accusations and presumptions, for the sake of creating a public or media prosecution," he said.
Still, he will have to confront some tough choices. Does he retain Tengku Adnan as the party secretary-general as demanded by Umno members or does he choose a replacement as expected by the rest of Malaysia.
Party or public? That is Abdullah’s dilemma.
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