Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad is disappointed that the infamous Lingam tape case has been closed, thus robbing him of the chance to clear his name.

mahathir at bum 2009 bloggers conference talking about sex and old age 290509 01 "He (lawyer VK Lingam) must be feeling very relieved. But what about the (royal) commission's report on his influence over me in the selection of judges?" he asked.

According to Mahathir, he was waiting for his day in court in order to defend himself over this issue, which exploded during the reign of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

"I have a lot of things to say about attempts to influence me on the appointments of judges," he said in his blog.

"Now that Lingam has no case to answer, how does it affect my being accused of being influenced by him, remembering that the tape was about his alleged phone conversation with other individuals.

"Did he say that I asked him to speak to those people? Was my name involved in his phone call?

"These questions will remain in the minds of the people who read the conclusion of the commission. So what now?" he added.

Mahathir also said he was informed that during the time of the "past regime", a thorough search was made to find instances where he had abused power or accepted illegal gratification while in office.

royal commission vk lingam tape hearing room evidence 140108 comparison photo to video "Apparently nothing was found. Could it be that one way of getting at me was to accuse me of being influenced by Lingam in my choice of judges?" he asked.

'No criminal offence'

The decision to close the case also drew flak from other quarters such as the Bar Council and opposition leaders.

On Monday, Parliament was told that the case against the prominent lawyer in connection with the alleged brokering of judges, which was featured in a video clip, has been closed with no further action.

This was despite the Royal Commission of Inquiry set up to look into the case, revealing that he brokered the appointments of judges.

The video-clip made international news and Lingam's utterance of the words "correct, correct, correct" became the butt of jokes for the entire nation.

In explaining the decision to close the case, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz said investigations showed that no criminal offence was committed in the appointment of judges.

Outcry over result of VK Lingam case