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©Malaysiakini
(Used by permission)
by Beh Lih Yi
PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim was slapped with a notice from the
Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) today compelling him to hand in the original Lingam
video clip or risk going to jail.
Failure to adhere to the notice, which is issued under the 1997 Anti-Corruption
Act, would result in the opposition leader being liable to a fine up to RM10,000
or a maximum two-year jail term, or both.
Three ACA officers led by its special task branch head Sazali Salbi issued the
ultimatum to Anwar after a three-hour meeting at the former deputy premier’s
Petaling Jaya office.
On emerging from the meeting, the trio refused to speak to the press.
Anwar has been given until Thursday to comply with the order. However, he
remained non-committal when asked if he would hand over the full video clip.
“(The release of the remaining clip) is subject to the whistleblowers. They want
to be protected, (and) I can’t protect their personal security,” he told a press
conference after the meeting.
"The guarantee of their personal safety and immunity from legal action are yet
unanswered questions that must be addressed in order for the remainder of the
tape to be released."
Anwar had on Sept 19 released the explosive eight-minute clip, which he said was
the first part of a 14-minute clip.
He argued that the remaining portion of the clip could not be revealed as yet to
protect the identity of the two whistleblowers.
At today’s press conference, Anwar reiterated the need to set up a royal
commission of inquiry to investigate the allegations raised in the clip, which
has since sparked an uproar within the legal fraternity and among the public.
Directive came from the ‘top’
According to Anwar, the ACA notice today was issued on a directive from the
“top”.
The order came despite that he had volunteered earlier at the meeting to supply
the ACA with a “genuine copy” of the eight-minute clip, which he said was
sufficient to authenticate the clip.
ACA has argued that the video clip given to the agency was not good enough to
prove the clip’s authenticity.
Anwar said he would provide a copy of the video clip that "can be authenticated"
so that the authorities will have no reason not to proceed with the
investigation.
According to him, PKR had earlier given ACA a copy of the clip in the form of a
compact disc.
However, he said the original copy, which was still with the two whistleblowers,
will be obtained from them in the next few days and this will be stored in a
thumb drive before handing over to the ACA.
“But after completing the statement and despite my undertaking, the ACA officers
received an instruction (through mobile phone) ... to issue an order to me
compelling me to submit the original videotape recording,” he said.
Anwar described the ACA’s concern on the authenticity of the clip as an
“anathema” as he pointed out none of the individuals named in the tape had come
out openly to deny the matter.
He added that the opposition party would also release in the near future the
views of video experts they had consulted.
Among those present at the press conference were Anwar’s lawyers - R Sivarasa,
William Leong and Sankara Nair.
Lingam named by ACA
Interestingly, in the ACA notice that was given to Anwar today, the agency has
for the first time named lawyer Lingam.
It said the phone conversation was “said to be between VK Lingam and a senior
judge in 2002". [See below]
According to media reports, the ACA was said to have called in Lingam for
questioning, as well as a business tycoon - believed to be Vincent Tan - who was
named in the tape but it is not known whether the agency had verified the person
in the clip was indeed Lingam.
Today was ACA’s second visit to Anwar’s office over the Lingam tape controversy.
At their first meeting on Oct 5, the ACA officials had grilled him on the
identity of the whistleblowers.
The grainy eight-minute video clip showed Lingam in a telephone conversation
allegedly with Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim on appointing
‘friendly’ judges.
Ahmad Fairuz, who was the chief judge of Malaya at the time, has denied his
involvement through de facto law minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz.
Anwar was the third person to be slapped with the ACA notice.
Previously, Sivarasa - who is also PKR vice-president - and Anwar’s aide Sim Tze
Tzin were also given the similar notice, demanding that they reveal the source
of the video clip.
They have however refused to comply, saying they are concerned with the safety
of the informants.
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The ACA first threatened the 2 whistleblowers but they failed to get anything out of the two, so they changed target to their leader; but I suspect this time the ACA would be more serious especially the instructions is stated as coming from "the top".
Since the threat did not work on the 2 subordinates, what makes the ACA think that the same trick would get something out of the leader? Why did the ACA wait until now to target Anwar? As a matter of fact, the deadline for the panel to form their conclusion is getting nearer and the remaining part of the clip is still in the hands of the PKR, which is believed that that will reveal the true identity of the persons involved. If that is the case, the remaining clip will on one hand prove the panel wrong despite whatever conclusion they reach and turn them into a big joke and on the other hand, it will also expose the true identity of the characters involved under the sun. Following this logic, goes without saying, the true intention of pressing on Anwar is not merely for the identity of X & Y, but more for the contents of the remaining clip.
Since this issue involves politicians, lets do not forget that the general election is rumoured of around the corner, so whatever steps taken by either party, it would somehow or rather be political in nature. I hope you get what I mean.
Shim Wai Loon