The government will first confirm the authenticity of the 'VK Lingam' video before deciding on the next course of action, said Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today.

He also said that it was important to establish the veracity of the footage "before jumping to any conclusion".

"Modern-day technology can also be abused and fabricated. So before we conclude anything let us establish whether there is basis or not," he told reporters.

Stating that he had not seen the footage, Najib said that he had also not spoken to Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim about the matter.

He also stressed it was premature to carry out an investigation at this time.

"We have to establish it first. Then whatever it is, we will decide at the next stage," he said.

The video clip was exposed by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday. It shows senior lawyer VK Lingam in a telephone conversation purportedly with Ahmad Fairuz.

The conversation surrounded fixing the appointments of 'friendly' senior judges.

The video clip, said to have been filmed in 2002, also revealed a discussion on Ahmad Fairuz's appointment as the chief justice of Malaya and chief justice, which took place in 2003.

In addition to the video clip, Anwar also revealed a short audio recording in which his name was brought up by Lingam.

The video clip has caused a massive uproar, with numerous quarters calling on the government to clean the 'rot' in the judiciary.

Flippant dismissal

Meanwhile, in an immediate reaction, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said Najib should not try to cover up the matter by questioning the authenticity of the video clip.

"The BN government is clearly confused with contradictory, inconsistent and even self-incriminating remarks or no comments," he said in a statement.

He added that the confusion was apparent when in one hand Najib was questioning the veracity of the clip while on the other the attorney-general was quoted in the media today as saying that Lingam had not committed any criminal offence.

"(AG) Abdul Gani Patail does not appear to doubt the video's authenticity, stating that no criminal offence appears to have been committed in discussing judicial appointments to the Bench," said Lim.

However, Lim said that as a responsible attorney-general, Abdul Gani should have called up Lingam for questioning, instead of flippantly dismissing the case as a non-offence.

He added the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz also appeared to have confirmed the video's authenticity in a New Straits Times report today by saying that the authorities would act on the video clip when an official report was made.

Lim said that the government should immediately set up a royal commission to look into the scandal.

He also said that Ahmad Fairuz should temporarily step down while the matter was being investigated.

Watch the video here