Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad says he welcomes any investigations into the allegations

JOHOR BARU: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he would not settle for less than his day in court so that he could defend himself against allegations he was at the centre of a judicial appointments scandal in 2001.

He hoped that when investigations into the conspiracy were completed, which also involved a lawyer, a tycoon and a former minister, he would be charged.

Dr Mahathir said he would then reveal what really went on behind the scenes at the time, including instances of judges lobbying him for promotions.

He told a press conference here he did not want the probe to end with the authorities concluding “there is no case” against him.

“Because people will then think that I lobbied to get off. Put me in court and let me explain.

“I don’t believe I did anything wrong but if they feel that I am guilty, I will accept any punishment.

“I welcome any investigations against me. I only ask that they charge me in court and I hope that the judge will allow me to speak,” Dr Mahathir said after attending a seminar here on the results of the 12th general election.

In January, the former prime minister had also promised full co-operation with the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam video clip, but his answers turned out to be less than forthcoming.

He told the commission he was not answerable in his prerogative to appoint superior court judges and could not remember important details behind his decision-making.

Dr Mahathir was responding to the publicising of the commission’s report, and the government’s decision to begin investigations into the six figures named for conspiring to fix the appointments and promotions of judges.

Aside from Dr Mahathir, the others are lawyer Datuk V.K. Lingam, former chief justices Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim and Tun Eusoff Chin, tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan and former tourism minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor.

The commission said “there was an insidious movement by Lingam with the assistance of his close friends, Tan and Tengku Adnan, to involve themselves actively in the appointment of judges”.

Dr Mahathir said that despite lobbying from certain judges, he decided on appointments based on his assessments of the candidates.

“It was not just judges who lobbied. People lobbied to be ministers and election candidates. I listened to them but I made my own decisions. I did not know lobbying was a crime.

“I also did not want to be a postman, where the chief justice hands me a recommendation for a judge and I hand it over to the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong.

“I would also scrutinise the candidate and if I found that he was not capable, I would not support his appointment.”

Dr Mahathir was here to continue his campaign to oust Prime Minister and Umno president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Growing increasingly strident as support for a rebellion against Abdullah ebbs, Dr Mahathir accused party chiefs who backed the incumbent of being “traitors” to the Malay community.

Article source:

The New Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR: The VK Lingam video clip shown to the Royal Commission of Inquiry is only some 20% to 30% of what was recorded that night at the prominent lawyer’s house in December 2001.

Somewhere in China, there is a disk containing the complete recording of what Loh Gwo Burne videotaped, separated into segments named VK1, VK2 and others. Most of what was made public was from the first segment of VK1.

»Eventually, when I find it, I will give it to the relevant authorities if required« LOH GWO BURNE

“I downloaded the video from my private computer into several hard disks and compact discs. When I went to work in China in 2004, I took it along,” Loh told The Star.

“The disk is still there. The rest of the videos contain, among other things, other telephone conversations between Lingam and the other person on the phone, as well as conversations Lingam had with my father.

“What has been made public is only about 20%-30% of what I filmed,” Loh said.

The Royal Commission of Inquiry recently identified former Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim as the person on the other side of the call with Lingam in the video.

The Kelana Jaya MP said he had not viewed the videos that he had left in China for some time and therefore could not be precisely sure of what else they contain.

However, from memory, Loh, 34, said he remembered that Lingam had mentioned about how he had manipulated cases to his advantage by using certain lawyers against certain judges to make sure the judgments would be in his favour.

Loh said he made three copies from the videotape. One copy was in China, the other he could not remember where he had kept it and the third was given to the late lawyer Manjit Singh.

Asked what he wanted to do with the copy in China, Loh replied: “Nothing at the moment. Eventually, when I find it, I will give it to the relevant authorities if required.”

He maintained that his family did not know how PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had gotten hold of a copy. Loh believed Anwar had somehow been able to obtain the copy that Loh had given Manjit Singh.

“Maybe after Manjit Singh died, someone went through his things, found the CD and, somehow, it ended in Anwar’s hands,” said Loh.

Asked why he gave a copy to Manjit Singh, Loh said that at that time in 2001 both Manjit Singh and Lingam were acting for his family over some legal matters.

“Manjit Singh had been displeased with Lingam over some payment issues. I passed the CD to him because at that point we were also not happy with the services provided by Lingam because there were many postponements to my family’s case,” said Loh,

But, Loh is not an accidental hero either.

That night in December 2001, he started his camera to film a bowl or vase in Lingam’s house because he was bored to be kept waiting by the lawyer “who was forever on the phone.”

“But when Lingam started asking someone on the other line not to worry, that he would be chief justice soon, I knew I had a once in a lifetime opportunity to document something that may one day help prove something is seriously wrong with the judiciary,” said Loh.

After what he heard that night, Loh said he was so disturbed that he decided there was no more freedom in the courts and chose not to take his Bar exams.

Instead, he went to work for the family business and travelled to China and Indonesia.

“After passing the CD to Manjit Singh, I did not think much of it for years, until (the issue) exploded,” said Loh.

Article source:

TheStar News