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• Probe panel meets tomorrow on damning video-clip

©Malaysiakini (Used by permission)
by Bede Hong

PRK political co-ordinator Sim Tze Tzin has told the ACA that two whistleblowers were involved in bringing the ‘Lingam tape’ to the party’s attention on Sept 18.

He was questioned this morning for three and a half hours in relation to how the party obtained the video clip, featuring senior lawyer VK Lingam revealing an apparent role in brokering judicial appointments and promotions that also inferred the involvement of current Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim.

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim held a press conference the following day to reveal the contents of the tape, but six of the 14 minutes of footage was withheld to protect the identity of the person who recorded it.

Sim, 31, who is a personal assistant to Anwar, was questioned by senior investigative officer T Thilavathy at the headquarters in Putrajaya. He was accompanied by his lawyer and PKR treasurer William Leong.

Speaking to reporters later, Sim (extreme right in photo) revealed that he had been summoned for questioning because he had viewed the tape in full on Sept 11 after being approached by one of two whistleblowers whom he dubbed Mr X and Mr Y.

He later clarified to malaysiakini that the code-name has no bearing on the sex of the persons.

“I’m considered the first to have viewed the tape, before (vice-president R) Sivarasa (who has since been questioned by the ACA). I viewed it first, then viewed it together with Siva at a restaurant in Mid-Valley (shopping complex),” said Sim.

“(The ACA) wanted to ask about the whole incident, what role I played, what I did. We went through the whole incident in detail.”

Key role

Sim also said he had also been “instrumental” in arranging a meeting between the whistleblowers with Anwar.

“I took Mr X and Mr Y to see Dato Sri Anwar (after being) instructed by (him) do that,” he said.

Sim said he did not reveal the identity of the whistleblowers to the ACA or disclose whether the whistleblowers were in the remaining segment of the footage.

A former engineer working in the United States, Sim joined PKR last year.

At a forum last Saturday, Anwar said that Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim was “explicitly mentioned” in the segment of the tape that has been withheld.

He added that “other personalities” were also shown and that the segment would be released “at a right time”.

The contents of the tape have triggered demands for investigations by a Royal Commission of Inquiry, although the government scaled this down to a panel of inquiry comprising former Chief Judge of Malaya Haidar Mohd Noor, National Service Council chairperson Lee Lam Thye and former Court of Appeal Judge Mahadev Shankar.

Last Wednesday, some 2,000 members of the Malaysian Bar marched in protest in Putrajaya, to deliver two memoranda to the Prime Minister's Department.

Lingam has not been available for comment to date, although Berita Harian quoted him today as saying that he was travelling and would issue a statement soon.

Ahmad Fairuz has declined comment, but is said to have denied involvement to de facto law minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz.

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