PKR’s de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has offered two “secret” witnesses to the royal commission on the Lingam tape whom he says can give crucial evidence on judicial fixing and corruption.

Anwar’s lawyer M Puravalen today sought a subpoena for the two persons to be brought in as soon as possible. Puravalen however remained tight-lipped as to the identity of the two witnesses.

Speaking to reporters after the inquiry, PKR treasurer William Leong said that these two “mystery” witnesses can shed light into the history of judicial appointments, including two meetings that allegedly took place in 1999.

Earlier, Puravalen ( photo, right ) told the commission that these meetings implicated VK Lingam, prominent businessman Vincent Tan, Tourism Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, the then attorney-general Mohtar Abdullah and former chief justice Mohd Eusoff Chin in judicial corruption.

He also questioned Tengku Adnan, who was on the witness stand today, if he was present at a meeting with Tan and former Bank Negara assistant governor Abdul Murad Khalid in August 1999.

According to Puravalen, the meeting took place at Tengku Adnan’s Jalan Duta residence and lasted for more than an hour.

Meeting at Palace of Golden Horses hotel

Tengku Adnan denied his presence at the alleged meeting and told the inquiry that he does not know Abdul Murad but may have heard of him.

Puravalen also interrogated Tengku Adnan as to whether he instructed Abdul Murad to sign a statutory declaration against Anwar Ibrahim - who was deputy prime minister at the time - but Tengku Adnan again denied the matter.

This morning, Puravalen had also quizzed former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is also a witness at the commission today, about a meeting between him and Abdul Khalid in August 1999.

The lawyer told the inquiry that the 90-minute meeting took place in a suite at the Palace of Golden Horses hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

Mahathir, the commission's 9th witness, told the inquiry that he could not recall that specific meeting.

“I meet a lot of people in many places. I don’t remember precisely if I met this person,” he said.

Puravalen told the inquiry that the two new witnesses would be relevant to the issue of judicial fixing.

According to Puravalen, the two witnesses fear for their safety and are not prepared to give their statements to the Anti-Corruption Agency, which was previously tasked with probing the controversial video clip.

“They don’t trust the ACA. I’m sorry to say this,” he told the commission.

The commission directed Puravalen to submit the witnesses’ statements tomorrow for consideration.

Anwar's request

Puravalen also sought to expedite Anwar’s appearance before the royal commission - preferably tomorrow or next Monday.

He told the commission that Anwar will be in Hong Kong from next Tuesday “for a considerable period” on work matters.

The lawyer also revealed that this engagement was Anwar’s source of income but did not specify the type of work.

According to Puravalen, Anwar believes he can assist the commission by filling in the gaps of Mahathir’s statement , in which the former prime minister claimed that he could not remember or recall the events that took place seven years ago.

The controversial video clip secretly filmed in December 2001 was released by Anwar last September. The commission will decide on when to summon Anwar and the two new witnesses tomorrow.

Watch 1-min video - interview with Anwar's lawyer William Leong