The independent committee set up to determine the authenticity of the Lingam tape has announced their terms of reference - to verify the authenticity of the video clip which first surfaced on Sept 19.

Head of the three-member panel former Chief Judge of Malaya Haidar Mohd Noor told Bernama this after receiving his letter of appointment from Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak that the terms of reference were clear.

"We are not going into details as our terms of reference are purely to verify the authenticity of the video clip.

"I will discuss with the members as to the mechanics of how we should go about doing this. We have been asked to conclude our findings in the shortest possible time," he added.

He said he had asked for more time to work out the details of the committee's role.

National Service Council chairperson Lee Lam Thye and former Court of Appeal judge Mahadev Shankar are the other two members of the committee.

The committee was announced by Najib on Tuesday to investigate into the eight-minute edited video that showed senior lawyer Lingam talking on the phone, apparently brokering the appointment of judges with Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim.

The revelation of the video prompted the Malaysian Bar to organise a peaceful march on Wednesday to hand over two memoranda to the Prime Minister's Office in Putrajaya.

The memoranda called for the setting up of a royal commission of inquiry to examine the claims made in the video clip and a judicial commission for appointment and promotion of judges.

Haidar said the committee will liaise with the legal division of the PM's Department but they have yet to determine the date of their first meeting.

Nine questions

In statement by Malaysian Bar president S Ambiga, the scandalous video clip raises nine questions that "cry out for answers":

  1. How exactly were the appointments of judges made at that time and since 1988, and what was the basis?

  • Were appointments determined by outsiders to the process under the constitution (involving, for example, businessmen or litigants) and how was this allowed?

  • Who are the 'key players' in the judiciary referred to in the conversation?

  • Who were the 'soldiers' referred to in the conversation?

  • Who were in the 'other camp' referred to in the conversation?

  • Who were the people who 'fought for us'? Who is 'us'? Who are 'our friends'?

  • What was the 'private arrangement' referred to in the conversation?

  • What was the '110 percent loyalty' referring to?

  • What was the nature of the relationships between the businessman, the lawyers, the politicians and members of the judiciary?

    • "If there's truth in the allegations (or in some of them), stern and appropriate action must follow.

    Either way, silence, dismissal, lukewarm responses or lack of action are not options for the government," Ambiga said.

    De facto law minister Nazri Aziz yesterday said there is no crisis in the judiciary and blamed the opposition for creating the scandal in order to erode public confidence in the judiciary.

    However, several lawyers refuted the minister's claims and stressed the judiciary crisis is very much alive.

    .