The names of the members of the royal commission tasked to look into the VK Lingam video will be made public after the King gives his consent.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the list of names have been submitted to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin.

“We need to get the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s consent first before making the names public,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama.

The decision to form the commission followed the findings of a special panel tasked to look into the authenticity of the clip, which said to be recorded in 2002.

The clip, exposed by opposition party PKR, shows senior lawyer Lingam in a telephone conversation brokering the appointments of ‘friendly’ judges.

It was said that the person at the other end was recently retired chief justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, but he has denied this.

The controversial clip sparked off widespread outrage, with numerous quarters urging the government to take immediate remedial measures to restore the integrity of the judiciary.

Meanwhile, Abdullah was also asked on the appointments of Abdul Hamid Mohamad as chief justice and Zaki Azmi as Court of Appeal president yesterday.

The premier expressed hope that the duo will help raise the image of the country’s judiciary.

"Alhamdulillah (Thank God), there seems to be support for them, the Bar Council accepts (their appointments), ex-judges accept and the attorney-general is relieved,” he said.

On Bar Council chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan’s statement linking Zaki to Umno, Abdullah said he is confident that the judge will be able to perform his duties well.

Elections free and fair

In another development, the prime minister said the country's election has always been democratic and fair and the government has never denied the rights to vote to those who are eligable to do so.

He said this was proven by the global survey, Voice of the People, conducted by TNS and Gallup International which found that Malaysians are the most confident in Asia of their country's free and fair elections, and outrank most of the region in their faith in democracy.

"Naturally, I'm happy to read the report and this is good. Maybe some are not happy but I'm sure that many people are happy. This is what I've always believed in," he said.

He said election was a subject of interest to everybody and he believed that the country's election had always been fair and those who can vote are always given the chance to do so.

He was commenting on the survey published by local newspapers today that three-quarters of Malaysians answered ‘yes’ to whether elections in their country are free and fair, the highest among 10 nations in Asia, and exceeding by far the 47 per cent world average.

TNS is a global market insight and information group with offices in more than 70 countries. Gallup International is a renowned polling outfit based in Zurich.

Abdullah said he was equally happy reading that the government had been doing the right thing all the while and in accordance with the people's inspiration.

"(The way) we are doing things, we are developing this country, we are managing this country reflects the aspiration and wish of the people and comparatively we did score high points as compared to the other countries.

"That is something that we can be happy about but of course we have to do more because without the people we are nowhere," he added.