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• Ex-chief judge heads Lingam video clip panel

PUTRAJAYA: Tan Sri Haidar Mohamed Noor said he did not feel there was any difference between a royal commission and a commission of inquiry, as both required the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

"It is established with the consent of the king, so to me there is no difference," said Haidar, who has also chaired the three-man panel appointed by the government to determine the authenticity of the video recording.

Unlike the panel, the commission of inquiry will have the power to summon people.

Asked whether he thought the government should have set up a commission from the outset after the video tape was leaked, he said: "This commission is an extension of the panel's scope.

"Now we have legal power under the (Commissions of Enquiry) Act to subpoena people, and we will be assisted by senior federal counsel from the Attorney-General's Chambers.

"The terms of reference are also broader, an extension of the panel's scope."

He said neither he nor the other members of the commission had received their letters of appointment.

"Once we do, we'll decide when to hold our first meeting and the direction we will take."

Meanwhile, Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Khoo Kay Kim said he would "do his best", adding that the first thing was to gather facts on the video clip.

The Bar Council, meanwhile, welcomed the setting up of the commission.

Its president Ambiga Sreenevasan said: "Although we had hoped for a wider scope of inquiry than just the video clip, this inquiry is nevertheless a very important and necessary one.

"The terms of reference may appear at first blush to be narrow, but when properly construed gives sufficient latitude for the commission to conduct a thorough inquiry.

"We look forward to a full and open inquiry by the commission."

She said the Bar Council would "make the necessary representations" to assist the commission.

Ex-chief judge heads Lingam video clip panel

by Hamidah Atan and Deborah Loh

PUTRAJAYA: The cabinet yesterday appointed Tan Sri Haidar Mohamed Noor as chairman of the commission of inquiry into the "Lingam" video clip case.

The video clip allegedly shows senior lawyer Datuk V.K. Lingam on the telephone brokering judicial appointments with a senior judge.

A statement from the Prime Minister's Office said the cabinet had agreed to the appointment of Haidar, four others as commissioners and a secretary.

The cabinet also laid out the terms of reference and the duration of the inquiry.

The king has given his consent to the appointment of the commission.

The other commission members are Tan Sri Amar Steve Shim Lip Kiong, Datuk Mahadev Shankar, Puan Sri Zaitun Zawiyah Puteh and Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Khoo Kay Kim.

Datuk Abdullah Sani Ab Hamid is commission secretary.

"It is hereby informed that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has consented to the setting up of the commission to investigate the video clip recording of images of a person purported to be an advocate and solicitor speaking on the telephone on matters regarding the appointment of judges," the statement said.

The formation of the commission under the Commissions of Enquiry Act 1950 (Act 119) took effect yesterday.

The terms of reference of the commission are:

- to ascertain the authenticity of the video clip;

- to identify the speaker, the person he was speaking to in the video clip and the persons mentioned in the conversation;

- to ascertain the truth or otherwise of the content of the conversation in the video clip;

- to determine whether any act of misbehaviour had been committed by the person or persons identified or mentioned in the video clip; and,

- to recommend any appropriate course of action to be taken against the person or persons identified or mentioned in the video clip should such person or persons be found to have committed any misbehaviour.

The statement also said the commission shall complete the enquiry and render a report to the king within three months from yesterday.

The setting up of the commission follows a recent statement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that a commission would be established to look into the matter in greater detail.

The decision to establish the commission came after a three-man panel was set up in September to determine the authenticity of the video clip. Haidar, a former chief judge of Malaya, was head of the panel.

The other members of the panel were former Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mahadev Shankar and social activist Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.

It did not have powers to summon anyone to assist it.

The panel members submitted separate reports to the prime minister and all of them recommended the setting up of a royal commission of inquiry.

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