Not sure if any common citizens would want to read through the 191 pages though; a few of the key highlights have been published in major newspapers anyway…

1. The video clip was authentic;

2. Lingam was having a phone conversation with former chief justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim;

3. Lingam was actively involved in the appointment of Ahmad Fairuz as President of the Court of Appeal, with the possible aim of his further appointment as Chief Justice;

4. Lingam had asked his close friends tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan and Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor to involve themselves actively in the appointment of judges, in particular the appointment of Ahmad Fairuz as the Chief Judge of Malaya and subsequently, President of the Court of Appeal;

5. The phone conversation indicated Lingam’s ‘uncanny knowledge’ of what could be considered as matters protected under the Official Secrets Act; and that,

6. Tengku Adnan appeared to be Lingam’s ‘source’ in the Prime Minister’s Department. [Thestar]

Meanwhile, Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail has ordered a thorough follow-up on all the findings made by the Royal Commission of Inquiry as well as the 14-minute recording… which they probably should have done at the first place.

Five other members of the commission are former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Amar Steve Shim Lip Kiong, former Court of Appeal Judge Datuk Mahadev Shankar, former Solicitor-General Puan Sri Zaitun Zawiyah Puteh, Academician-Historian Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Khoo Kay Kim and Datuk Abdullah Sani Ab Hamid (as commission secretary).

I don’t have enough knowledge to justify if these people are suitable candidates to investigate the matter, and I am not sure if the royal panel could produce anything more meaningful than the earlier 3-men panel.

Regardless of the result, I doubt that the findings could change the current situation where our judiciary system is being controlled (or at least influenced) by our BN lead government.

Even if the tape is found genuine, the people that will be penalized would probably be Lingam and Fairuz while the rest of the VIPs that are involved would keep hidden behind the curtain and not being punished.

The tape might help raise some public awareness that our country administration is not as clean as the government is trying to portray… perhaps it is the only meaningful purpose that it could serve in the end.

Meanwhile, Anwar Ibrahim has released the full version of the video…

What concerned some people though… is the promotion of Umno-man Zaki Tun Azmi to take over Abdul Hamid as Court of Appeal president, which makes Zaki the #2 top judge in Malaysia and possibly the next Chief Justice.

Zaki Azmi is Umno’s former top legal adviser. He was controversially appointed as a Federal Court judge in Sept 2007 as the first ever person to be elevated directly to the highest court without having served as a judge in the lower courts.

Now here he is, the Court of Appeal president. The appointment is an indication that there were no other suitable candidates in terms of seniority and service in the judiciary, or perhaps a more logical explanation… that Umno led government is appointing their own man in top judiciary positions. It’s not a good sign either way.

Malaysian Bar has expressed their surprise with Zaki’s appointment, but trusted that “these concerns will be dispelled by a display of integrity and exemplary performance on the Bench by Zaki.” [Malaysianbar]

I can’t share the same optimism though. While the society is still having doubts over our judiciary system following the Lingam tape scandal, the Zaki Azmi’s amazing promotion is likely to further dent the reputation our judiciary independence.

Frankly, I am a bit tired of how the situation is progressing.

It is quite obvious that the independent panel has failed to determine the authenticity of the video that was released in September, and it’s reasonable to assume that this extra 10 seconds of the clip means nothing for authentication.

ACA is probably meeting dead end as well. If the alleged parties have decided to keep their lips sealed, and Anwar couldn’t provide any other proof besides the video, nothing much could be done.

A scandal will remain as a scandal… no crime, no corruption, no misused of power and position… but just gossips.

I am actually beginning to question Anwar’s motive behind the issue. He could have included the 10 extra seconds at the very first video… why not? Why is he releasing the extra clip now? Isn’t the timing a bit too convenient during the UMNO General Assembly?

I can’t really explain my thoughts into words, but I feel that Anwar is playing a cat and mouse game with BN government… letting go of a trapped mice and let it run for a while, see how it reacts before catching it again. Everything seems so political driven now rather than fighting for justice.

I am not surprised with the scandal, but am surprised that something like that was caught on tape (or video, whatever). Our judiciary system is losing faith among Malaysians since former PM Mahathir Mohamad fired the chief judge in 1988. Since then Malaysia no longer have a judiciary that is independent from government administration.

It is therefore no surprise that money and relationship play a greater part in determining the position of senior judges rather than based on pure merit.

The main media has been extremely quiet on this saga; the news is not completely blackout, but the scale of the reports is pathetic.

Meanwhile DPM Najib Abdul Razak has said that the government will first confirm the authenticity of the ‘VK Lingam’ video before deciding on the next course of action. [Malaysiakini]

You can read the draft transcript via PKR’s website or Malaysiakini.

[Follow this tag for updates about Lingam Tape Scandal]