Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh wants the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) to investigate former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad on his recent allegations that several judges had lobbied for promotion during his time in office.

He wants the ACA not only to investigate the allegations but also as to why Mahathir did not lodge a police report for the overtures of the judges and or persons concerned.

According to the senior lawyer, Mahathir has fallen foul of the Anti- Corruption Act 1997.

Lobbying by judges for judicial promotions and career growth, or anyone for that matter, who lobbied to the prime minister to be appointed as a judge, commit an offence under the 1997 Act, said Karpal.

"The 1997 Act was passed during Dr Mahathir's time. "Surely he knew that he was duty bound to report about it," Karpal told journalists when lodging a police report against the former premier today.

karpal singh police report tun mahathir 230508

In his police report lodged at the Jalan Penang police station in George Town, Penang, DAP national chairperson Karpal called on the ACA not to let anyone off the hook in its investigations on the alleged lobbying and Mahathir's failure to report about it.

At a forum in Johor Baru last weekend, Mahathir revealed that several judges had lobbied him for promotions when he was the country's fourth Prime Minister for 22 years (1981 - 2003).

Speaking on the allegations that he was at the centre of a judicial appointment scandal in 2001, the 83-year-old veteran politician said he would "love to be in court to testify about the scandal."

Only then, the former premier said, he could reveal what went on behind the scenes at the time and instances of judges lobbying him for promotions.

Duty bound to report

The royal commission report on the VK Lingam video clip named Mahathir and five others - lawyer Lingam, former chief justices Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim and Eusoff Chin, tycoon Vincent Tan and former minister Tengku Adnan Mansor, to have conspired to fix the appointments and promotions of judges.

The federal government had ordered a thorough investigation into the allegation.

Despite lobbying from certain judges, Mahathir claimed he decided on the judges' appointment based on his own assessment.

mahathir hulu langat 120408 speech Even then however, Karpal believed that Mahathir was duty bound to report the matter to police and ACA to initiate investigations.

"No doubt he claimed to have decided on the appointments by his own accord, nonetheless he had neglected his duty as the prime minister by not lodging police report to prompt a probe.

"It's a serious allegations and an offence under the corruption law. It must be probed," he said.

When Karpal raised similar issue at the Parliament on Wednesday, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz agreed that such acts could amount to corruption.

The DAP leader also called on Mahathir to publicly name the judges and persons concerned.

He said it was wrong to allow the issue to lie down because innocent judges would also be tainted with similar allegations.