UPDATED
By Asrul Hadi Abdullah SaniKUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 — The DAP’s Karpal Singh, who is also one of the country’s best-known lawyers, said today he was willing to volunteer his services to prosecute Datuk V.K. Lingam if the Attorney-General gave him the authority to act.
Karpal was responding today to remarks yesterday by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz that the Bukit Gelugor MP could represent the A-G and prosecute Lingam.
“If Karpal is willing to represent the A-G, I will persuade the A-G to engage Karpal to prosecute on behalf of the government,” Nazri had told reporters in Parliament yesterday.
Lingam, a senior lawyer, was implicated in a scandal involving senior judges and found by a royal commission to be the person recorded “fixing” the appointment of judges.
The royal commission found strong evidence against Lingam and in its report suggested that action be taken against him and others implicated in the infamous “correct, correct, correct” recording.
Other figures implicated include Tun Eusoff Chin, Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim and tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan, a close friend of former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Photos had also emerged of Eusoff and Lingam together on a holiday in New Zealand in the late 1990s.
Last Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin confirmed that the government would leave it up to Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail to decide if Lingam’s alleged role in fixing judicial appointments should be re-investigated.
Karpal said today that it was common in England for the government to allow private law practitioners to prosecute on behalf of the Queen’s counsel.
“In this country there is a provision in the law for the A-G to issue a certificate which is a fiat to prosecute someone. I call upon Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz to advise the Attorney-General to issue that letter of fiat for the purpose of prosecuting V.K. Lingam,” he told reporters at a press conference in the Parliament lobby.
Karpal pointed out under section five of the Seditious Act (1948), “no person shall be prosecuted for an offence under section four without the written consent of the Public Prosecutor (A-G).
“If the Attorney-General agrees and I don’t see any reason why he should not especially in the light of the minister’s statement in the lobby of Parliament yesterday to issue his written consent,” he said.
Nazri said yesterday that the government has no reason to defend Lingam and that veteran lawmaker can charge him.
“I accept the challenge. I am prepared to prosecute V.K. Lingam for an offence under section 4 of the Sedition Act. Based on the video clip, whatever he said amounts to seditious tendencies.
“In other words it comes under section 3 (1) (C) of the Sedition Act which defines seditious tendency as a tendency to bring into contempt or hatred against the administration of justice in the country,” Karpal explained.
He said seditious tendency is punishable under section four of the Sedition Act.
Under the section, those found guilty can be fined not exceeding RM5,000 or imprisoned for not more than three years or both.
Karpal also stressed that the A-G is advisor to the government, and government has the authority to direct the advisor.
“I think that Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz has issued a challenge to the legal profession. What I require is the file relating to the investigation into the video clip affair. Once I get the consent from Attorney-General to prosecute then I will do the necessary,” he said.
He added that the first step is to apply for warrant of arrest of Lingam.
“The next step is to produce him in court for the purpose of taking a plea from him as to whether he pleads guilty or not. Of course, I would advise him to plead guilty. To the plea of guilty, there is a paramount consideration when it comes to sentencing.
“Of course, he has the option to claim trial which I think he will and I am prepared to take him on. I am taking him on in public interest because he has done has brought shame to the country and to the legal profession in particular,” he said.
Karpal believes that Lingam is guilty of sedition and must be punished.
“The time has come for positive action to be taken. The V.K. Lingam saga has been dragging on for quite some time now, more than a year. Recommendations made by the royal commission of inquiry are being ignored by the government,” he said.
The government has flip-flopped over its stand on the Lingam case especially when two ministers managed to contradict each on the status of the case.
Nazri had said, in a written reply to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, that no action would be taken against Lingam.
He said Gani had found “no case” against the senior lawyer.
However, just a week later, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein announced that the Lingam case was still under investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
“The investigation in relation to V.K. Lingam’s video case is still under investigation by the MACC and the police are no longer handling the case,” Hishammuddin said in a written reply to Wangsa Maju MP Wee Choo Keong.
Nazri again sparked an uproar in Parliament when he said “judiciary fixer” Lingam had been let off the hook “because he had broken no law”.
Nazri also suggested that Lingam breached no laws as he might “have just acted to fix the appointment of judges as if he was brokering the appointment of senior judges to impress people”.
Nazri argued that, from the legal perspective, Lingam could have “merely made a suggestion” as to who should be appointed to senior posts in the judiciary.
MACC deputy commissioner Datuk Abu Kassim Mohamad has also said that the A-G will release a special statement soon on the controversial closure of the case even though the Home Minister had stated that Lingam was still under investigation by the commission.
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