JURIST - Paper Chase: Malaysia opposition leader calls for charges in judicial fixing scandal

[JURIST] Former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim [JURIST news archive] called Monday for the prosecution of public officials involved in a judicial fixing scandal, one week after government officials ended their investigation into a video [YouTube video; JURIST report] allegedly showing prominent lawyer VK Lingam brokering the appointment of the former Chief Justice of Malaysia to the Supreme Court. The person on the other end of the phone was believed to be Malaysian Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim.

The video's release last year prompted 2,000 lawyers and activists to call for an official investigation [JURIST report; press release] in a mass protest. A Royal Commission began its sessions in January, when Lingam told the panel that he was intoxicated [JURIST report] when the video was filmed. Lingam also told the panel that Halim was not on the other end of the line [Bernama report] in the first video. In April, Ibrahim officially returned to Malaysian politics [JURIST report] as the leader of opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat, marking the expiration of his 10-year ban from public office arising from corruption and now-overturned sodomy convictions [JURIST reports]. AP has more.

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