Transmenu powered by JoomlArt.com - Mambo Joomla Professional Templates Club

©New Straits Times (Used by permission)

KUALA LUMPUR: A senior judge has denied he was talking to in a video recording of an alleged phone conversation between the two to discuss judicial appointments.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said yesterday the judge in question had contacted him to make the denial.

I have been told that the person on the other end (in the video-recorded conversation) was not the alleged judge," he said.

"The judge called me to deny that he was the one talking to the lawyer."

Nazri, the minister in charge of law, asked: "What will happen to the judiciary if the allegation that a lawyer discussed judicial appointments is false?"

He said the bench's reputation would be tarnished if action were taken on an accusation which was later found to be unfounded.

Police have begun investigations to ascertain the authenticity of the video clip.

Nazri also questioned the motives behind the release of the video clip, which was given to the media before it was handed to the police and the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA).

I don't think the person who released the video clip to the media was interested in solving a problem.

"If they want to uphold justice or want to clean up the judiciary, the police and the ACA can investigate. Why go to the media? The intention is questionable, was it for political mileage or for a clean judiciary?" he asked.

The video was disclosed at a press conference by the opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat on Wednesday.

The minister warned that legal action could be taken against those seeking to undermine public confidence in the judiciary.

The eight-minute video showed the lawyer apparently discussing the elevation of the judge he was speaking to and the appointments of other judges.

Yesterday, the Bar Council, in an emergency meeting convened to discuss the video clip, called for a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate the matter.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahamd Badawi said on Friday that he viewed the issue seriously and had asked the police to investigate it as soon as possible.

He said the video clip could harm the good name of the judicial system.

"We cannot take this lightly and the matter must be addressed promptly," Abdullah had said.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed