Lingam video clip: Commission's report: Laws may have been broken, says Zaid

Source: www.nst.com.my

PUTRAJAYA: The cabinet has ordered the attorney-general to immediately direct agencies to investigate allegations levelled against six prominent individuals identified in the Lingam video clip.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said the six were former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, retired chief justices Tun Mohd Eusoff Chin and Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, former minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan and prominent lawyer Datuk V.K. Lingam.

The six were among the 21 witnesses who gave evidence before the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam video clip.

The clip basically shows Lingam engaged in a conversation over judicial appointments with Ahmad Fairuz.

During the 17-day hearing between Jan 14 and Feb 15, the public was privy to some explosive revelations.
Zaid, who is the de facto law minister, said the government took into account the findings of the commission which had identified and decided that the 14-minute recording in the clip was authentic and recommended that appropriate action be taken against individuals identified and were said to have committed certain offences.

"Following these findings, there is a possibility that offences against the law have been committed as stipulated in the commission's report," he told a news conference to announce that the government had decided to make the commission's report public.

The five-man inquiry panel, led by former chief judge of Malaya Tan Sri Haidar Mohamed Noor, in its report said there was sufficient cause to invoke the Sedition Act 1948, the Prevention of Corruption Act 1961, the Legal Profession Act 1976, the Official Secrets Act 1972 and the Penal Code against some of the principal individuals involved.

"We do not discount the possibility of other laws being contravened," the report stated

The commission said the findings have, at the very least, provided the catalyst for further investigations so that, it hoped, there would be complete transparency and full accountability.

"This is absolutely essential if we are to wipe out once and for all the stain of that remark once made by justice N.H. Chan in reference to the judiciary that 'Something is rotten in the State of Denmark'," said the report.

Zaid said the government took into account the findings of the commission which had identified and decided that the recording in the clip was authentic.

He said the report and recommendations were information and as such an investigation must be carried out.

Zaid said the cabinet urged the public, including the media, to allow the investigation process to proceed uninterrupted without undue pressure or any prejudice against any individuals identified in the report.\

Johor Umno Youth: Non-Malay membership proposed

Source: The Star

JOHOR BAHRU: Among the feedback gathered by the state Umno Youth from its grassroots was one that suggested revisiting the idea that the party should be open to non-Malay membership.

The division has been collecting suggestions from the grassroots that members hope the leadership will look into before the party branch elections begin in July.

Johor Umno Youth chief Razali Ibrahim said that there were 149 suggestions over how the party could move forward after the heavy losses in the March 8 general election.

“Everything you can imagine, from the most rational to the most extreme, was discussed,” he told reporters after an eight-hour meeting here on Sunday.

Razali said that the suggestions included revisiting the vision of Datuk Onn Jaafar who had called for Umno party membership to be open to all Malayans (then) and for the party to be renamed the United Malayans National Organisation.

“In his time, his vision could not be accepted, but maybe the suggestion can be received in this new political landscape,” said Razali.

He however was quick to point out that the suggestions mooted were not the stand taken by Johor Umno Youth, but that of the grassroots.

He also said that the grassroots perceived that the rakyat (citizenry) was disillusioned with what was reported in the mainstream media and turned to alternative sources like bloggers for news.

“They said that the mainstream media is the only channel through which the Government can get its messages across to the people, but asked what could be done if the people don't read newspapers or watch mainstream television stations,” he said.

Razali said that the grassroots were now waiting and watching closely the direction the top party leadership would take in response to their suggestions and views.

He said that the 149 suggestions from the meeting would be forwarded to Umno Youth Chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein Onn and Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman within a week.