KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- The Royal Commission of Inquiry report which
rendered the Lingam video clip authentic and recommended action against six
individuals for misconduct is invalid, said lawyer Datuk V. K. Lingam.
He said the invalidity of the report was due to the absence of signatures of the
five commissioners who sat in the proceeding.
Lingam, who represented himself at the High Court (Appellate and Special Powers
Division) proceeding today, seeking leave to review the commission's findings,
said each of the commissioners were statutory-bound under the Commissions of
Enquiry Act 1950 to sign the report to give it a legal validity and effect.
"In the absence of the signatures of the five commissioners who sat and
constituted the commission, the commission report is null and void," he added.
The commissioners were chairman Tan Sri Haidar Mohd Noor, former chief judge of
Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Amar Steve Shim Lip Kiong, retired court of appeal
judge Datuk Mahadev Shankar, former solicitor-general Puan Sri Zaitun Zawiyah
Puteh and Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Khoo Kay Kim.
The panel sat in the 17-day inquiry into the 14-minute video clip which was
released by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim,
purportedly showing Lingam brokering on the appointments of judges on the
telephone with former chief justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim.
The commissioners, in their report which was released to the public, found the
video clip to be authentic and also recommended that appropriate course of
action be taken against Lingam, tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan, Umno
secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, former premier Tun Dr
Mahathir Mohamad and two former chief justices Ahmad Fairuz and Tun Mohd Eusoff
Chin for misconduct.
The commission found that there was sufficient evidence to investigate the six
men on offences under the Sedition Act, Official Secrets Act and the Penal Code,
and the Legal Profession Act 1976.
Except for Dr Mahathir, the other five men have filed applications seeking leave
for a judicial review of the inquiry findings.
In the proceedings Wednesday, Lingam cited 12 grounds on why the court should
grant leave for review of the inquiry's decision.
Among the grounds included that the commission's report was tainted with bias,
erroneous and perverse because its findings were not supported by evidence and
also did not give adequate consideration to relevant matters.
Lingam further said the panel had committed errors of law in its decision and in
its decision-making process, as well as exceeded its jurisdiction because it
only considered the first part of the video clip whilst refusing to admit the
second and third part of the clip allegedly claimed by Anwar to be a
continuation of the other parts of the video clip.
He submitted that the commission's decision to disallow two of his (Lingam)
foreign experts to testify on the authenticity of the tape also constituted an
act of grave unfairness and injustice against him because those experts were
able to give authoritative evidence that the video clip was not authentic.
Lingam said the copy of the video tape analysed to determine its authenticity
was not the original copy of the recordings of the events depicted in the video
clip but was downloaded from Anwar's website.
He also contended that the commission's findings that he had committed criminal
misbehaviour, was a grave attack on his reputation and that he had a fundamental
right under Article 5 (1) of the Federal Constitution to safeguard his
reputation.
Lingam also said the commission went on a frolic of its own when it made
recommendations on the appointments and promotions of judges and on judicial
reforms, whereas under the terms of reference, the commission only had the power
to recommend appropriate action to be taken against individuals found to have
misbehaved.
Hearing before Justice Datuk Abdul Kadir Musa continues on Sept 4.
2012 Bar Council Subscription Click the link above to download Circular 072/2012 pertaining to the 2012 Bar Council subscription, including the payment guide and a set of Frequently-Asked-Questions.
2012 Hotel Corporate Rates Attending seminars? Going for a holiday? Click on the link above to check out the list of hotel corporate rates for Members of the Bar, which is updated regularly.
Bar Council Bookshop Read MORE … but pay LE$$! Members enjoy a 20% discount on LexisNexis publications at the Bar Council Bookshop. Click on the link above for the list of available titles.
International Malaysia Law Conference (26 to 28 Sept 2012) Hurry up! The countdown continues and the current promotion rate ends 30 June 2012. Don't miss what is going to be the best conference in the region! On top of that, if you sign up with 5 or more people from the same organisation, we will give you a 10% group discount. Click on the link above to register.
Seminar on an Introduction to the Industrial Relations Act (23 May 2012) Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Bar Professional Development Committee, this seminar will take place at 3:00 pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Bar Auditorium, on 23 May 2012 (Wednesday). The seminar will be conducted by Wong Keat Ching. Click on the link above for more details.
Seminar on Tax Issues in Financial Transactions (25 May 2012) Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Bar Professional Development Committee, this seminar, featuring S Saravana Kumar, will take place at 3:00 pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Bar Auditorium, on 25 May 2012 (Friday). Click on the link above for more details.
Dialogue with Criminal Law Practitioners (26 May 2012) Organised by Bar Council, this dialogue will take place at 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, at the Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium, Bar Council, on 26 May 2012 (Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.
Conference on Competition Law (31 May 2012) Organised by Bar Council with the support of LexisNexis, this conference will take place at 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, at Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel, on 31 May 2012 (Thursday). For more details or to register, please contact Vilashini Vijayan (03-2050 2095; vila@malaysianbar.org.my). Click on the link above for more details.
Talk on What Clients Want (7 June 2012) Organised by the KL Bar Practitioners' Affairs Committee, the talk, presented by Ong Eu Jin, will take place at 5:00 pm, at the KL Bar Auditorium, on 7 June 2012 (Thursday). Click on the link above for more details.
4th LAWASIA Family Law Conference, Penang (13 and 14 July 2012) Supported by Penang Bar Committee and the Malaysian Bar, this conference, themed “The New Global Family: Emerging Trends and Challenges to Family Practice”, will take place at Traders Hotel, Penang, on 13 and 14 July 2012 (Friday and Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.
News 
•
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Circular No 106/2012: Accountant’s Report 2011
