Thursday, September 27, 2007

Lim Kit Siang - question mark over 'Lingam Tape Investigation Panel'

A fundamental advice to conveners intending to hold an inquiry, no matter whether it carries a Royal Commission or otherwise, is that they should know beforehand what the findings would be.

If that cannot be 100% assured, limit the terms of reference to ensure desired finding, and if that outcome is still doubtful, well, don’t convene any inquiry but provide some excuse like a police investigation should be adequate.

Where doubts exist at all, don’t ever ever have a Royal Commission which has extraordinary powers – extraordinary powers that may lead to unforeseen independent actions/findings by the members.

Well, following the brouhaha over the Lingam videotape, DPM Najib has succumbed to pressure (probably to relieve any untoward bad publicity on the nearing general election) and has convened an ‘independent’ panel to investigate the authenticity of the tapes.

Just a little digression here – who could the owner of that tape, holding it for years until now when he probably grew dissatisfied with a number of ‘things’ to finally present it to Anwar Ibrahim?

But two days ago Malaysiakini reported that Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang criticized the limited terms of reference of the ‘independent’ panel of investigation. He said:

“In restricting the panel to the question of the authenticity of the Lingam tape instead of allowing full investigations into all aspects of the allegations of perversion of the course of justice and the compromising of judicial independence, impartiality and integrity raised by the video clip, the government is avoiding the imperative issue of the long-standing rot in the judiciary and the urgent need to restore national and international confidence in the system of justice with a truly independent judiciary and a just rule of law.”

Lim has a certain verbosity that challenges our limited vocabulary. In plain street talk, Lim had said “Bullsh*t to just look into whether the tape was genuine or not. What about the more important issue, the recorded events showing a lawyer discussing appointments of judges with the current No 1 Judge? HTF are we gonna trust any judge again?”

Then the next day, Lim again attacked the ‘independent’ panel of investigation. Malaysiakini reported that Lim called for a member of the panel, former Chief Judge of Malaya Haidar Mohd Noor, to either decline or withdraw as chairperson of the three-man panel.

Lim said Haidar was involved in the 1988 judicial crisis which saw the unprecedented sacking of Salleh Abas, then Lord President, George Seah and the late Wan Suleiman Pawan Teh who were Supreme Court judges. Yes, I can see why Lim perceived Haidar's appointment as rather inappropriate.

Lim said that was the ‘mother of all judicial crises’ - hmmm, if the late dictator Saddam Hussein had patented the use of the phrase ‘mother of .....’, he would have been a very rich dead man by now – everyone seems to be using his rather unique and succinct phraselogical creation.

But Lim was fair in that he urged Haidar to clarify his role in the crisis, and that he (Haidar) must explain that ‘arbitrary and unconstitutional’ sacking of before taking any role connected with restoring national and international confidence in the judiciary.


See what I mean by Lim's challenging style of talking! But look, Haidar now has an opportunity to defend his role, a privilege that Abbas didn't enjoy.

Lim didn’t spare his former fellow DAP pollie as well, asking poor Lee Lam Thye to decline the appointment or withdraw.

But I do wonder which three independent personalities could be recruited for this investigation – the opposition of course aren’t exactly independent as they are out for blood.

Gosh, after 50 years of national independence, it has become even more difficult to find just three independently minded persons to fill such a panel, limited as the terms of reference may be.

4 comments:

  1. KT,
    Its time we revert our judicial system back to the way the 'orang asli' community dispense justice if a wrong is done by a member of the community. In any orang asli community, the community head known as 'Tok Batin' will be the judge and jury in any cases of wrong doing reported to him.
    The way our judicial system has gone, I am beginning to believe that the 'orang asli' way is far superior.

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  2. “just three independently minded persons” ?

    That’s easy enough. How about from the following (inconclusive) list:
    1) Capt Yusof Ahmad (http://cyusof.blogspot.com/)
    2) Datuk Marina Mahathir (http://rantingsbymm.blogspot.com/)
    3) H.J. Angus (http://malaysiawatch3.blogspot.com/)
    4) Ktemoc (http://ktemoc.blogspot.com/)

    Please add more to the list….

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  3. KT,
    My own little investigation based on people who have met Lingam in person.
    The guy in the video is unmistakably Lingam. The voice sounds like him, and certainly clear enough for a voice fingerprinting expert to verify for sure, one way or the other.
    So who was at the other end ?
    Who recorded the video ?
    How did he record the video ?
    Why has it surfaced now , not earlier ?

    Like many other people, I'm greatly concerned with the implications of this tape on the integrity of the judiciary.
    Are judges and court decisions being bought and traded like real estate ? That is a sure road down to Banana-land.

    But I'm a bit leery of this tape itself, for the above reasons. The guy in the tape looks like he's putting on a show for the benefit of the tape ?

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  4. Did Lim have a go at Shanker? If he did not, he is betting a 'Ranasinghe' will emerge

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