A political party is asking all lawyers to boycott cases in which Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim presides at the Federal Court.

This is following the revelation of a shocking video showing senior lawyer VK Lingam on the phone allegedly with Ahmad Fairuz on fixing the appointment of judges.

In a media statement today, PSM's pro-tem secretary-general S Arutchelvan urged the Malaysian Bar Council to "disassociate in all dealings with Ahmad Fairuz" and also called upon all its members to "boycott all cases involving Ahmad Fairuz."

"We also call for the immediate suspension of Ahmad Fairuz and a tribunal to be set up to investigate him and all other judges associated and appointed by him," said Arutchelvan.

He added that the former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad must also be investigated on his role in the dark chapter of the country's 1988 judiciary crisis .

Describing fixing the appointment of senior judges as "the most disgraceful act of our judiciary since 1988", Arutchelvan said: "Besides being disgraceful, it is also an insult and humiliation to the entire nation".

"No government can continue to govern and pretend that everything is fine after this dreadful and terrible revelation," he said, adding that PSM was also appalled by the mainstream media for acting dumb and not addressing the issues raised in the video.

Council meeting tomorrow

Meanwhile, the Kuala Lumpur Bar Committee said that it was "shocked and dismayed" by the video.

In a separate media statement, committee chairperson R Ravindra Kumar said that the issues raised in the video suggested corruption and blatant executive interference with the judiciary.

Explaining that the video would undermine the independence and the integrity of the judiciary, Ravindra called for an immediate and thorough investigation by the police and the Anti Corruption Agency.

"Investigation on the protagonist on the video and all the persons named or mentioned as well as on all the matters raised in it (the video) is warranted," said Ravindra.

"We also endorse and support the call made by Bar Council for the establishment of a royal commission of inquiry into this matter," he said.

Ravindra said that the committee takes the view that this whole episode further underscored the need for an independent judicial commission for the appointment of judges.

He said that will be the first meaningful step towards restoring the image of judiciary in the eyes of public.

When contacted, Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan confirmed the emergency Bar Council meeting is scheduled for tomorrow.

"The only agenda for our meeting tomorrow is the video clip and the actions that need to be taken against it," she said.

Background to the Lingam tape

The grainy eight-minute video footage was taken in 2002 at senior lawyer VK Lingam's Kelana Jaya house. At that time, Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah was chief justice. Appointed in 2000, he was seen as a fresh break from his two previous predecessors - Mohd Eusoff Chin (1994-2000) and Abdul Hamid Omar (1988-1994).

Dzaiddin was to retire in 2003, and the video showed Lingam expressing concerned that the outgoing CJ was moving his 'men' into top judiciary posts. The conversation revolved around the urgent need to get Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, then chief judge of Malaya - the judiciary's No 3 - appointed as Court of Appeal president (No 2) and then chief justice (No 1). There was also the plan to get former attorney-general Mokhtar Abdullah, who was then a Federal Court judge, to replace Ahmad Fairuz as No 3.

To do that, Lingam had roped in tycoon Vincent Tan, a close crony of then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, a key minister in PM's Department. They were to talk to Mahathir on the appointment of judges.

Postscript

Ahmad Fairuz was appointed Court of Appeal president in December 2002 - months after the telephone conversation. Dzaiddin stepped down as CJ in 2003 and he was replaced by Ahmad Fairuz. Mokhtar, however, could not take the No 3 post as he was in coma after suffering from a fall in August 2002. He died in 2003. Ahmad Fairuz' term as CJ will end in October 2007.

Watch video here .