Update
Lawyer Datuk V.K. Lingam has given a statement to the Anti-Corruption Agency on the video clip allegedly showing him discussing judicial appointments with a judge.Read here for more
The statement was given upon his return from overseas early this week, according to sources.
It is not known whether Lingam went to the ACA office or its officers went to his office or home to record the statement.
The sources said that ACA officers could meet with Lingam again if the need arose.
Lingam could not be reached either at his office here or through his mobile phone.
Press Statements:
".. We are baffled that the ACA has served a S29(c) notice on the two persons to reveal the source of the video clip. We only hope that this is not the procedure prompted by the powerless Haidar panel.
Surely the starting point in the investigation into the authenticity of the video would be simply to inquire from VK Lingam to confirm or deny that it was him in the video. If there is no response from him, then he should be the one served with the notice to extract the information.
In the absence of whistleblowers protection and/or witness protection legislation, targeting whistleblowers and putting their lives in jeopardy is just not the way.
The ACA and other agencies involved, including the Haidar panel, should not be seen as assisting and/or protecting VK Lingam and the personalities named in the clip..."
".. I disagree with the ACA’s approach in giving an ultimatum to Sivarasa and Sim. They should be investigating into the truth of the statements made in the video.
The source is not prepared to come forward without witness protection, this is why the panel is not the suitable avenue to deal with this matter because they lack the powers that a royal commission of inquiry has, for example, in providing protection for witnesses.
The ACA has gone the wrong way in doing this. They should be promising whistleblowers protection from any reprisals first, then only talk to Sivarasa and Sim because by then they would be ready to give more information..."
".. Set up a royal commission of inquiry, then we’ll give you the VK Lingam tape whistleblowers. The ACA should be after the offenders in the videotape, and not the messengers or the whistleblowers. Unfortunately, this latest action allows the ACA to be perceived as yet another tool of the government, protecting those who are corrupt instead of victims of corruption.COMMENTARY
We will stand by these two men and the source of the videotape, and my party will never compromise any source with information on corruption to the authorities, until immunity is guaranteed for the whistleblowers.
In this case of the 'Lingam tape', the source will only surface at a royal commission of inquiry.
We have been talking about having a Whistleblowers Act for many years now, but this has been cast aside by the government who claims whistleblowers will be protected.
It is clear that this is not true, and the time has come for us to begin work on this crucial piece of legislation."
From Present Point Power Blog: Read here for more
"..The behind the scene moves are clearer now with the Legal Affairs Department orchestrating and directing the Probe Panel. The Panel seems to be at a loss over its "terms of reference" so much so that the Datuk Shankar had to distribute to Pressman a copy in Bahasa Malaysia and had a copy translated of their appointment letter.
When he called for witnesses to come forward; he was shot down by DPM Najib that "they were not supposed to call witnesses" and use Government agencies help to determine the authenticity.
After the probe panel first meeting, they have gone into a two week recess waiting for others to do the job. And the bombshell came from ACA when they threatened the two PKR whistler blowers to reveal their source(s) or face a two-year jail term.
It looks like the Panel is just a camouflage for a Government damage control initiative to get at the source. Statements have been recorded from the lawyer in the Video Clip, the prominent business man and s from Anwar Ibrahim from his house.
The 3-member Independent Panel is a Powerless 3-member Stooges Panel making its decision basing on the investigations of the ACA and perhaps the Police."
"..If the Lingam Tape video is a hoax and phony, VK Lingam would have appeared long time ago in some press conference denying his involvement in the phony video and vehemently pledge his innocence to the whole wide world.
At least, that is what an ordinary man would do to clear his name. He would also have filed a police report claiming that some irresponsible parties were attempting to frame him for something that he did not commit long time ago. He would probably submit a few names to the authorities that he suspected of being the perpetrators of that phony video too.
If you are in his shoes and you are innocent, what would you do then?
I’m sure that you would do all those things that I had said earlier, isn’t it?
The perplexing problem right now is that VK Lingam has not said anything about this case yet. To the best of my knowledge, we have not heard any denials from him so far. Not a single word! Correct me if I’m wrong and I will stand corrected.
Nobody knows for sure where and where VK Lingam is today. Very elusive, very much like a rat, pardon me for saying that. According to one report published by MalaysiaKini on the 2nd of October 2007, VK Lingam is believed to be in town. Come out; come out wherever you are VK Lingam. We are all too eager to see and hear what you have to say about this case.
Okay now, let us presume that the Lingam Tape video is authentic and darn right genuine. Of course, some folks would not like people like us to make such presumptions at this particular stage but this is only for the sake of discussion. It is good for the nation. Don’t expect us Malaysians to be dumb and stupid.
If the Lingam Tape video is authentic and VK Lingam is guilty as alleged, definitely VK Lingam would be able to guess who the whistleblowers were in the first place unless of course VK Lingam has problems with his memory. I don’t think so; you cannot be a good lawyer if you have short memories.
If he can guess who the whistleblowers were, does this mean that their cover has been blown?
Maybe and maybe not... Right now, we could only guess because we didn’t really know who the whistleblowers were. One thing that we have to consider is that those whistleblowers don’t have to be VK Lingam’s guests or any other people that was there inside his living room when that disturbing phone call was recorded.
What if those whistleblowers were people who had gained possession of that Lingam Tape video after receiving copies from third parties?
There are so many ifs at the moment, isn’t it?
Let us not spend too much time thinking about those whistleblowers here. They are not the ones in question. I do agree that the authenticity of that video must be ascertained first beforehand. The authentication and any other following cases must be investigated by a full fledged Royal Commission. Not by some toothless Independent Panel, that is something pretty clear at the moment.
Like what I had said in my past postings, I do believe in two things.
One, I tend to believe that the Lingam Tape video is authentic.
Second, the Lingam Tape saga has now turned into a delicate and deadly cat and mouse game. It is no longer about who is right and who is wrong. It is about who will outsmart who in the end. One thing for sure, whoever make the very first wrong move would be barbequed!
I would like to believe that Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his PKR are in the side of righteousness. At the same time, I am worried for their safety. They are protecting the whistleblowers but nobody is protecting Anwar Ibrahim and his PKR. Yes, it is a struggle and we must believe that justice would soon prevail and the light of truth will soon outshine darkness..."
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