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©New Straits Times (Used by permission)

KUALA LUMPUR: At least 16 witnesses will be subpoenaed to give evidence before the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the "Lingam video clip".

Commission chairman Tan Sri Haidar Mohamed Noor said the names of these witnesses were identified by two deputy public prosecutors (DPPs) who would be assisting in the inquiry.

He, however, declined to reveal the names of the witnesses.

"There is no necessity to divulge their names. You will know who they are when the inquiry begins on Jan 14," he said after chairing a meeting with commission members at the Jalan Duta Court complex yesterday.

Haidar said there were many names mentioned in the video clip but not all would be called.

The New Straits Times learnt that among those who would be called to give evidence are former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, ex-deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, retired chief justices Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim and Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah.

Others include former minister in the prime minister's department Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan and lawyer Datuk V.K. Lingam.

Haidar said besides the 16 witnesses, others who wanted to testify could get in touch with commission secretary Datuk Abdullah Sani Ab Hamid who would liaise with DPPs Datuk Nordin Hassan and Datuk Azmi Ariffin.

"But they must be witnesses who are relevant to the inquiry."

He said the commission had set aside two weeks to take oral evidence but anticipated that the court proceedings could end much earlier.

On the procedures to be adopted, he said the DPPs would introduce evidence through the witnesses.

'They will ask witnesses questions. Commission members could also pose questions to clarify issues."

Haidar said the commission also approved the request by the Malaysian Bar Council to assist them in the inquiry.

He said the DPPs were trying to locate the person who recorded the 14-minute video clip of a senior lawyer on the telephone allegedly brokering judicial appointments with a senior judge.

According to Haidar, the DPPs were also keen to get in touch with an unidentified person, allegedly posing several questions to the lawyer after the telephone conversation with the judicial officer.

"I hope they can identify and record statements from the persons."

Meanwhile, lawyer and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president R. Sivarasa said the party would extend its cooperation to the commission as pledged earlier.

"We will encourage the person who took the video clip and the unidentified person questioning the lawyer to get in touch with the commission secretary as soon as possible."

Anwar had earlier stated that the identity of the whistle-blower would only be revealed if a royal commission was formed.

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