Critics welcome KL video hearing in open court

KUALA LUMPUR – A HIGH-level Malaysian commission investigating a video alleging judicial corruption will hold hearings in an open court, a move welcomed on Wednesday by critics who had feared the scandal would be swept under the carpet.

The six-member Royal Commission announced on Tuesday it will call on witnesses from Jan 14 to authenticate and probe a video that allegedly shows a prominent lawyer brokering the appointment of top judges in 2002.

Findings of a three-member panel that looked into the video earlier were not made public, prompting accusations that the government was trying to cover up what could be a potentially embarrassing scandal.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi appointed the new Royal Commission after an outcry over the inaction by the three-member panel.

The Royal Commission, comprising former senior judges and legal experts, will have three months to decide whether there is sufficient evidence of wrongdoing, and to recommend an appropriate course of action.

Commission chairman Haidar Mohamad Noor, who is a former chief justice, said the inquiry would be heard in open court, but some hearings may be closed in cases where witnesses request not to be exposed.

Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan, welcomed the move.

'They have to exercise their discretion … There may be occasions when this is necessary for the protection of the witnesses but we hope these (occasions) will be rare,' she said.

The video clip, released by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in September, shows a prominent lawyer talking on his mobile phone and identifying the person on the other end as a senior judge.

The lawyer allegedly speaks about how he helped get the judge appointed and discusses plans to elevate him further with the help of a tycoon and a senior politician. A number of prominent judges are also named during the conversation.

Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang, who has called for wide-ranging reforms to what some allege is a corrupt judiciary, said the inquiry should be held in open as much as possible.

'The whole royal commission needs to be under public scrutiny … so as to avoid all suspicions of any cover-up,' he said. — AP