Panel calls for action against key culprits

Panel calls for action against key culprits
13 May, 2008

JUDGE-FIXING SCANDAL

The report was also said to have chided several key witnesses for not being forthcoming and truthful in their answers during the hearing.

LESLIE LOPEZ, THE STRAITS TIMES

THE Royal Commission probing allegations of corruption in the judiciary has recommended prosecuting key figures involved in the scandal, including prominent lawyer V.K. Lingam.

It also called on the government to reopen investigations into complaints of misconduct against judges, said senior government officials familiar with a report that the five-member panel had submitted to the government last week.

The probe had followed the release of a 2002 video allegedly showing Datuk Lingam discussing the promotion of judges over the phone.

Yesterday, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim also demanded that high-profile judicial and government figures be prosecuted for allegedly manipulating the appointments of judges.

According to the government officials, the Royal Commission had singled out Datuk Lingam for possible criminal prosecution, and recommended reopening investigations into allegations of corruption involving judges, based on testimonies by Datuk Lingam's brother and secretary during the hearing.

The report was also said to have chided several key witnesses for not being forthcoming and truthful in their answers during the hearing.

It is unclear if any particular witness was identified.

Prominent personalities who appeared at the hearing included former premier Mahathir Mohamad and former tourism minister Tengku Adnan Mansur.

The government will decide this week whether to make the report public, though Datuk Seri Anwar insists that this should be done.

'It really doesn't have a choice. The report must be made public and all the recommendations must be carried out in full if confidence in the judiciary is to be restored,' he told The Straits Times yesterday.

He had ignited the public controversy surrounding the judiciary when he released the video recording in September.

The Royal Commission reportedly found that Datuk Lingam was speaking to former chief justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim in the video, but it is unclear if it recommended taking any action against the former judge.