Urges PM to act firmly against those implicated in Lingam video
Anwar Ibrahim giving a press conference on the Lingam video report today. — Picture by Choo Choy May
PETALING JAYA, May 12 – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today dismissed accusations by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that the V.K. Lingam video clip was exposed for the express purpose of blackmail.
The Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor said Tun Dr Mahathir was free to air his personal views but it did not mean he (Anwar) was compelled to respond in kind. "That is his personal view, I don't need to respond to that. The facts speak for themselves.
"The Lingam video was taken in 2001 and I can understand and forgive Dr Mahathir for forgetting the fact that in 2001, I was in Sungai Buloh jail," he responded, referring to the 6 years he spent behind bars.
Yesterday, Tun Dr Mahathir had told journalists in Shah Alam that Anwar had an ulterior motive in releasing the Lingam video. "Although there is no direct connection with me, if you read between the lines, it is suggested that the (then) prime minister is biased and things like that. This kind of thing would keep going on. This is done by Anwar.
"Anwar purposely got this tape and exposed it because he wanted to undermine Lingam's credibility, who happens to be my lawyer. He is defending me against Anwar," said Mahathir, referring to a RM100 million defamation suit filed against him in which he had engaged Lingam to defend him.
Anwar had been instrumental in going public with the video's contents last year. The video, which had been secretly recorded by Loh Gwo-Burne in December 2001, purportedly showed judicial appointments being brokered over the phone between lawyer Lingam and a top judge in the country.
Anwar welcomed the submission of the report to the king and called on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to not only disclose the findings of the Royal Commission, but to take action against the individuals who had "deviated the course of justice" to prove that he was serious about judicial reform.
"It is critical that adequate measures be taken to restore the independence of the judiciary and to ensure the professional and unbiased investigation and prosecution of criminal activity by the Attorney General's chambers that is free of executive interference.
"This would involve serious consideration of the inconsistencies and dubious procedures being followed by the authorities right now in the investigation of cases that involve senior government officials and, to mention a few of the more egregious allegations, murder and the massive misappropriation of public funds,” he announced, making a non-too-subtle reference to the murder of Mongolian translator, Altantuya Shaaribuu, whose case is still ongoing at the Shah Alam court.
"A half-hearted attempt at restoration would be as unsatisfactory as no restoration at all," he concluded.
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