I have seen part two of the Lingam tape, said Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang, and it depicted senior lawyer VK Lingam who in a post-call conversation said the person he was talking was former chief justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim.

In a parliamentary speech today, Lim said that he could vouch for the existence of another six minutes of the infamous 14-minute tape.

The first eight minutes of the explosive Lingam tape was made public by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim at a packed press conference two months ago. However, the other part was held back to protect the whistleblower.

"I can vouch the existence of another six-minute sequel to the eight minutes of Lingam tape released by Anwar Ibrahim ... as I have seen it," said Lim. He however did not reveal where and when he viewed the clip.

"In the six-minute (video), Lingam had finished the telephone conversation and it recorded a conversation between Lingam and another person who asked who was Lingam speaking to on the phone, and Lingam distinctly answered that he was talking to Ahmad Fairuz, at the time chief judge of Malaya."

The first eight minutes of the clip shows Lingam talking on the phone, allegedly with Ahmad Fairuz - who retired as chief justice last week. The duo were talking about the need to ensure the appointment of 'friendly' judges.

Ahmad Fairuz has denied his involvement in the telephone conversation through a minister, while Lingam has been silent to date despite media attempts to obtain his comments.

According to Lim, the new video clip - said to be recorded in 2002 - revealed another piece of information on the appointment of top judges.

In the clip, Lingam mentioned that then chief justice Dzaiddin Abdullah had wanted the late justice Abdul Malek Ahmad to be the chief judge of Malaya - the judiciary No 3 post.

However this was averted in a 'power play' which resulted in Ahmad Fairuz being appointed to that post instead, said Lim.

"Abdul Malek was five years senior to Ahmad Fairuz in the judiciary as he was appointed High Court judge in January 1985, while Ahmad Fairuz was appointed High Court judge only in August 1990." lamented Lim.

Haidar not telling the truth

In a related matter, Lim ticked off the three-member panel set up to probe the authenticity of the tape for its "shocking decision" yesterday to submit three separate reports to the government.

He refused to accept panel head Haidar Mohd Noor's explanation for the "extraordinary turn of events" - that due to time constraints, "it would not be fair to load one member with the task of preparing the report".

"Even a schoolchild can see that Haidar is not telling the truth, and that the real reason is that the three-man panel cannot reach agreement on its finding and recommendation.

"As no witness had appeared before the Haidar panel, which had only the report of the Anti-Corruption Agency to go by, what is the heavy task about preparing the report which Haidar is talking about?" asked the veteran opposition leader.

"It must be the easiest report in the nation's 50 year history for any inquiry committee to write as there is very little to say since all that is required of the panel is to determine whether the Lingam tape is authentic or not."

The government announced the formation of the panel a day before 2,000 lawyers participated in an unprecedented 3.5km march in Putrajaya to demand investigation by a royal commission of inquiry.

The panel has been widely criticised for its lack of powers to inquire into the controversy since it is restricted to looking into the authenticity of the clip and not the alleged 'judicial appointment fixing' that has caused widespread public outrage.

Haidar has today officially submitted its three-in-one report to the government.

SPECIAL REPORT: The Lingam tape