These allegations have further implicated the lawyer appearing in the "Lingam video". They have now shown that other judges may also be involved in improprieties and the rot in the judiciary may be as extensive as claimed by various people. It is incredulous that the authorities have not taken any action on these allegations even though the police reports have been filed even before the emergence of the Lingam video. It seems like the statements made by various parties in the government about the Lingam video and the emphasis on establishing the authenticity of the video instead of verifying the truth of its contents are deliberate attempts to mislead the public.
These new allegations reinforce the urgent need for the establishment of a royal commission of inquiry which thankfully has now been agreed upon by the government. However, it is of utmost importance that the members of this commission be carefully selected and they must be independent of any political influence and must be well-respected and impeccable for their integrity. The royal commission must also be given the widest possible terms of reference so that a proper and full inquiry into the state of the judiciary can be carried out.
Valuable time has already been lost by setting up the shackled 3-member Haidar panel by the deputy prime minister. For the confidence of Malaysians to be restored, the royal commission of inquiry must now be established without any further delay. Only then will the people believe that there is a sincere wish to investigate the alleged rot in the judiciary and that there will be no cover-up of any sort.
More details on the press conference held by Wee Choo Keong, secretary-general of the Malaysian Democratic Party where these allegations were revealed are available at this blog and in this Malaysiakini report "More allegations of judicial graft emerge".
The following is the video of the press conference.
(courtesy of Malaysiakini)
Quotable Quote:
"When I am asked what I thought, my usual reply is that I wouldn’t like to be tried by today’s judges, if I am innocent." - Former Lord President Tun Suffian
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