The “toothless” independent panel and many questions
Thursday, October 4th, 2007 | 2:52 am @ SK
It’s only the first meeting for the three-man independent panel and yet, so many critical questions went unanswered which create even more doubts. Among them are:
- How do we expect an independent panel to conduct a thorough investigation when it has no legal power, no power to call witness, no power to administer oaths and no immunity under the lawyer as confessed by one of the panel member Mahadev Shankar?
- Why the establishment of an independent panel with so many hoo-ha if the primary and the only objective is merely to investigate the authenticity of the "Lingam video"?
- As the panel is powerless to call for witness, they can only pray hard for witnesses to come forward and testify. The question is, why should the people come forward when the independent panel can’t protect them from prosecution?
- Why the knee-jerk reaction from the Anti Corruption Agency (ACA) where instead of picking up the senior lawyer VK Lingam for further questioning, they’re quizzing messengers like PKR vice-president R Sivarasa and Anwar’s aide Sim Tze Tzin as reported by Malaysiakini? Click here to read blogger Elizabeth Wong’s take on this, in which she calls it "the game of catch the whistleblower".
- What’s the transparency level for the independent panel to carry out their duties when investigations would be conducted on close door basic and the outcome will be submitted only to the Government?
Anyway, as far as we Malaysians are concern, the "Lingam Video Part 1" has created several eruption response from NGOs, activists, bloggers and more importantly, Bar Council which demands nothing less than a royal commission.
The biggest bombshell is yet to come where the "Lingam Video Part 2" still remains in the cold storage, however not without some tit-bits when it was revealed by PKR advisor Anwar Ibrahim that Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim’s name was explicitly mentioned.
The Government is smart enough to know the impact when the "tell-all session" is going to happen as undeniably, up to this stage, it’s an uncharted path on the Government’s part.
So, as much as it’s going to be the horse mouth’s Nazri Aziz intention as the self-appointed spokeperson to deny the existence of any judiciary crisis, the investigation outcome by the independent panel would be essential in helping shaping public opinion towards the Government’s sincerity and determination to give us a transparent, fair and independent judiciary system, in which otherwise is going to hurt the Barisan Nasional’s government image in this coming general election.
October 4th, 2007 at 4:37 pm
Video clip probe: Witnesses ‘must be bold & stupid enough’ to testify in a ”Saturday Night At the Movie Show“!
KUALA LUMPUR: The Special Independent Panel (Take a SIP, while you are at it) investigating the authenticity of a video clip allegedly detailing a conversation about judicial appointments has no legal power but with plenty of jingle-jangle talks and nothing else.
According to panel member Datuk Mahadev Shankar: “We have no legal power. We have no power to administer an oath. No power to compel witnesses to come to us. We have no power to commit anybody for contempt. Then, what else do you have? A piece of wilted stick?
“We have no immunity under the law either. If we are a public authority or a commission of inquiry, we will have statutory immunity for what we are doing. For what we are doing now, the only immunity we have is our conscience, our good faith and our honesty of purpose to do this as quick as possible.” Hello there, therein lies the Jingle-Jangle!
He, however, had a request: “Don’t throw stones at us until we have finished our inquiry.” Then, we give you some sticks, can or not?
Since the panel had no power to force anyone to do anything, Mahadev said those who had knowledge or information about the authenticity of the video clip would have to be bold & cranky enough to come forward to meet the big bully armed with a big bazooka.
“The truth is the best armour. Justice is the best protection. But you can’t pick that out of the air, you sure can stick that in your thick head though. Be bold-(click on the Font option) to come forward. If not for anything, do it for the sake of Malaysia.” Hello there, herein lies the Jingoism!
“If you want to come, come but just sit there and be quiet. But if you don’t come, we’ll be so happy because at the end of the day we’ve got nothing else to do and got paid for it. Ain’t that great to beat the Malaysian system?”
Those wishing to assist the panel would be required to give their names and particulars. And from that day onwards, you become paranoid schizophrenia- “Eh, is that guy following/watching me or what?”
Mahadev said the responsibility for a stable and orderly society was not the government’s alone and that every citizen had the same duty. There goes that Jingoism again! “Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You, But What You Can Do For Your Country” Very Kennedyish, don’t you think?
He added that the panel would work very closely with the ACA and the police. Weird, isn’t it? Wouldn’t it be better to leave it to the laws in the first place?
“Our terms of reference are to verify the authenticity of the video clip, it stops there.” Weirder still, wouldn’t it have saved some costs to leave it to the laws in the first place?
Well, let’s all spend “Saturday Night at the Movie Show” instead!
October 9th, 2007 at 12:43 am
[…] together with seeking urgent clarification from the Government on some critical questions which remained unanswered as mentioned […]
January 17th, 2008 at 1:08 am
[…] "toothless" three-man independent panel which produce absolutely nothing wouldn’t be established and which of course, wasting […]