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©Malaysiakini (Used by permission)
by Beh Lih Yi

The three-member independent panel set up to probe the authenticity of the VK Lingam video clip was confronted by a group of angry protestors during its maiden meeting this morning.

The panel, headed by former chief judge of Malaya Haidar Mohd Noor, started its meeting at about 9.45am at the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) office in Kuala Lumpur.

The other two members are former Court of Appeal judge Mahadev Shankar and National Service Training Council head Lee Lam Thye.

About 30 minutes into their meeting, some 20 people calling themselves the 'Steering Committee to Free the Judiciary’ arrived at the Suhakam office with banners and placards.

Majority of the group were opposition PKR members, with some wearing headbands bearing the words ‘no meeting’ and ‘stop meeting’.

They were led by PKR supreme council member Latheefa Koya and human rights group Suaram executive director Yap Swee Seng.

The group wanted to submit a memorandum demanding the panel to stop the meeting, given its limited terms of reference - to probe the clip’s authenticity - and its unsatisfactory composition.

The panel’s secretary, Abdullah Sani Ab Hamid, who was negotiating with the group later said only one representative would allowed to enter the meeting room to hand over the memorandum.

“Just one representative. The panel is in session, let us do our work,” Abdullah, who is the legal affairs division director-general at the Prime Minister’s Department told the group who were standing outside the meeting room.

However, the group refused and insisted that more representatives be let in or that Haidar come out to receive the memorandum.

The group failed in submitting their memorandum after several rounds of negotiation with Abdullah that lasted for about 30 minutes as both parties refused to budge from their stand.

Top guns in waiting room

As the group were negotiatiating with the officials, chaos broke out when press photographers jostled to take photos of the heads of three top government agencies who arrived at the Suhakam office.

They were Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan and Anti Corruption-Agency (ACA) deputy director-general Abu Kasim Mohamad.

However, the trio could not make it to the meeting room because of the protestors’ presence and were quickly ushered into another room near the entrance. (right)

At about 10.50am, Gani made his way through the crowd when the groups’ representatives were holding an impromptu press conference to criticise the panel’s refusal to meet them.

Gani, who was smiling, walked through the crowd which was chanting ‘No to independent panel, we want royal commission’. He was able to go to meet with the panel.

Some 20 minutes later, ACA director-general Ahmad Said Hamdan also arrived at the Suhakam office and joined the others in the waiting room.

The four took turns to meet with the panel, beginning with Gani who met the members for 55 minutes, followed by Musa (10 minutes) and the ACA top brass (25 minutes).

The four, however, refused to talk to the press when they emerged from the meeting room.

Is the panel legal?

During the impromptu press conference held earlier by the protestors, Latheefa said there was no sense for the panel to be set up given its limited power and its inability to subpoena witnesses.

She also criticised the appointments of Haidar and Lee.

“Haidar himself has his own scandal in the 1988 judicial crisis while it is ironic to have Lee there, when more than 10 deaths involving national service trainees have yet to be investigated,” she told reporters.

Suaram’s Yap said the panel was formed without consultation with the relevant quarters.

Lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad, who was also present, questioned the legal standing of the panel since it was not formed in pursuant to any relevant legislation, in particular the Commission of Inquiry Act 1950.

“Is this a legally constituted panel? Just because it was announced by the (deputy prime minister) doesn't make it a legal panel,” he argued.

The group left soon after their impromptu press conference was over at about 11.15am.

Later, fearing that the protestors may turn up at the panel’s press conference, Abdullah later asked the group of journalists before letting them into the meeting room: “Are the protestors still around?”

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