Opposition leaders are not prepared to believe a denial issued by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Aziz on behalf of the chief justice in regards to the Lingam tape.

Lim Kit Siang, who is parliamentary opposition leader, said there was no proof that Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim had actually denied that he was the person lawyer VK Lingam was talking to in the controversial Lingam tape.

He added that the denial sound far-fetched as only "some 24 hours earlier Ahmad Fairuz had in 'black-and-white' through his special assistant Arleen Ramly written to Malaysiakini to give a two-paragraph 'no comment' response". [see below]

Lim described Nazri's claim that Ahmad Fairuz had called him to deny that he was the one talking to Lingam as "full of holes".

"How is Nazri sure that it was Ahmad Fairuz who had spoken to him by phone and not an impersonator?" the opposition leader cheekily asked.

Lim also wanted to know why Ahmad Fairuz changed his mind when he had just issued a 'no comment' a day earlier and why he couldn't issue the denial himself.

"Isn't he aware of the doctrine of separation of powers among the executive, parliament and judiciary by conducting himself in such an improper and subservient manner, subordinating the judiciary to the executive?"

Message in photographs

If Ahmad Fairuz had indeed issued the denial through Nazri, Lim wanted to know why the top judge failed to do so in the first three days following the expose of the Lingam tape by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday.

According to the opposition leader, Ahmad Fairuz could have issued his denial as soon as the scandal broke out as he had met Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on both Wednesday and Thursday night.

Both were photographed seated at the same table for two fast-breaking functions.

Lim queried if there were any messages that were being transmitted by the publication of the photographs of the two men sitting at the same table in New Straits Times and Utusan Malaysia.

"Is it to send the message that Ahmad Fairuz has the full backing of the prime minister, regardless of the nationwide outcry and outrage over the Lingam tape?"

We want to hear from him directly

Lim said that Ahmad Fairuz must be prepared to personally make a categorical denial with regard to the Lingam tape.

He added that if the chief justice failed to take the necessary steps to clear his name, then the public must conclude that there was something very rotten about the judiciary.

"The cabinet must act in the best interests of the nation to restore national and international confidence in the judiciary to its heyday before 1988," he said.

This, he said, could be achieved by setting up a royal commission of inquiry into the Lingam tape and the judicial scandals since 1988.

The eight-minute long Lingam tape - taken in 2002 - showed lawyer Lingam brokering the appointment if judges with another person on the telephone.

Although the person at the other end of the conversation is not seen in the clip, the context of the conversation indicated that it was Ahmad Fairuz.

While Ahmad Fairuz has been silent on the matter, Nazri told reporters on Saturday that he had received a call from the chief justice, denying his role in the tape.

PKR ticks off Nazri

Meanwhile, PKR vice-president R Sivarasa said he found it strange and irregular that the chief justice would ask a minister to defend his integrity on his behalf.

"Nazri also does not say when he was purportedly asked by the chief justice to make this reply," said Sivarasa, who is a trained lawyer.

According to him, "it is highly inappropriate for a member of the executive - a minister in the PM's Department no less - to be speaking for the highest ranking officer in the judiciary."

Sivarasa also defend the decision of his party for going public with the video instead of reporting to the police and the Anti-Corruption Agency.

"For us, the matters disclosed in the video were of immense public interest. The video also affirmed information known for years about such allegations of 'judge fixing'.

"Further, Nazri must know that confidence in the police and ACA is at an all-time low. Full public scrutiny is therefore necessary not just for the police and ACA, but also the prime minister and all other concerned authorities to act effectively on this."

He said that PKR is also taking the matter up with the Conference of Rulers and the prime minister.

SPECIAL REPORT: The Lingam tape