No witnesses yet to video controversy

The Straits Times, October 19, 2007


KUALA LUMPUR - A MALAYSIAN government panel formed to verify the authenticity of a controversial video clip has been waiting in vain for a witness to come forward in the last three weeks.

The panel was formed last month after a controversy erupted when an opposition politician released the video clip, which purportedly showed a senior lawyer brokering the appointment of judges.

Since the panel has no power to summon witnesses, it has to wait for someone to volunteer information.

No one has.

Panel chairman Haidar Mohd Noor said that until Tuesday, its secretariat had yet to report anything to him.

The secretariat is the legal affairs division of the Prime Minister's Department.

'I take it that nobody has come forward. If anybody had come forward, I'm sure the secretariat would have alerted me,' he said.

The government put together the panel - comprising two retired judges and a social activist - after calls to quickly restore confidence in the judiciary.

But critics have said the team is toothless because it cannot compel witnesses to come forward, it has no power to commit for contempt and it cannot offer immunity to witnesses.

The clip, released by former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, showed the well-connected lawyer speaking on the phone, allegedly to a top judge, about how he was using political connections to secure appointments for senior judges.

Datuk Seri Anwar did not disclose who shot the clip.

Tan Sri Haidar said if there were no witnesses, the panel would have to wait for the results of investigations being carried out by the Anti-Corruption Agency on the same matter.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK