Karpal wants cert to prosecute Lingam by year-end

(The Star) – DAP chairman and veteran lawyer Karpal Singh wants the Attorney-General (A-G) to issue him a certificate of fiat (legally binding order) by the year-end, authorising him to prosecute prominent senior lawyer Datuk V.K. Lingam for allegedly lobbying the appointment of judges.

Karpal, who is also Bukit Gelugor MP, said it had been nearly a month since de facto law minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz threw an open challenge to lawyers to prosecute Lingam.

“He picked on me in particular, and I accepted the challenge. Nazri later said he would have to persuade the A-G to authorise me to do so,” Karpal said, adding that he had not heard a word on the matter from Nazri or the A-G since then.

The issue involved a video clip in which Lingam was shown engaging in a telephone conversation allegedly brokering the appointment of senior judges.

“The Government thought it fit to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry, which made certain findings that Lingam was guilty of various offences. It is obvious the Government is not prepared to accept the findings,” Karpal Singh said in a press conference Sunday.