KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 - DAP chairman Karpal Singh wants new Chief Justice Tan Sri Zaki Azmi to step down within a week for lying about graft, failing which the Bukit Gelugor MP intends tol reveal an audio recording of Zaki admitting to bribing court officials.
Karpal, who heads the parliamentary caucus on the integrity and independence of the judiciary, said he would file a motion against Zaki for having misled the country with his “so-called clarification” unless the Chief Justice resigns.
“We cannot have a Chief Justice who lies, simple as that,” Karpal Singh told reporters here today, adding: “We must start with integrity. There is no point having independence without integrity.”
On Nov 8, the NST reported Zaki as saying “it took me six months to be nice, bribe each and every individual to get back into their good books... and I am telling this to all clerks and all the registires to stop this nonsense.”
The next day, it ran a clarification from Zaki that “your reporter must have interpreted what I have said... I have never in my life bribed or received any bribe.”
Karpal Singh said that this was a lie as there is a recording of what he said at the integrity convention in Kuching.
“You can take my word for it,” when asked about the recording.
He added that the fact that no retraction or apology was demanded by Zaki was telling of the latter’s guilt.
Karpal had on Nov 12 tried to move an emergency motion in Parliament but Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia rejected the motion under Standing Order 18(7)(c), whereby the Speaker of the House can reject any motion, if he was satisfied that the motion went against Standing Orders.
Clarifying the matter after the issue was raised by Karpal, Pandikar Amin said he rejected the motion under Standing Order 36(8) which states that the character and conduct of judges cannot be discussed.
“For this purpose, the requirement under Article 127 of the Federal Constitution needs to be met which is the conduct of a judge cannot be discussed in Parliament except by a specific motion whose notice is made by not less than one-fourth of the members of Parliament,” he said.
Karpal had also filed a police report on the matter the next day.
While Karpal said that he is still waiting for Barisan Nasional MPs to join the caucus before calling its first meeting, he clarified that he did not need their support to move the motion as Pakatan Rakyat had 81 legislators, more than the required 55 to make up a fourth of the House.
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