Attorney-General Mohtar Abdullah said today that investigations into reports with implications of alleged judicial misconduct of Chief Justice Eusoff Chin while on vacation in New Zealand where he met lawyer VK Lingam, also on holiday, "have been closed for the time being".

He told reporters in Putrajaya that there was no case to warrant further proceedings as investigations carried out to date did not indicate any wrongdoing by the CJ, who is due to retire next month.

The CJ's purported meeting Lingam "by concidence" in New Zealand became a controversy, as reported by malaysiakini in the Bowman Papers, compiled by a private investigation agency in UK, also later publicised widely by other media (Eusoff, Lingam face new allegations, June 4).

Malaysiakini reported that Eusoff and Lingam flew together with their families for their Christmas holiday in New Zealand in 1994.

Copies of Eusoff's itinerary and Lingam's counterfoil air tickets, which Bowman's team of investigators said they obtained, allegedly show that both took the same flight from Singapore to Auckland, and within New Zealand.

"I thought this issue is closed as far as we are concerned. All the allegations in respect of all the persons who are named (in the alleged reports) have been thoroughly investigated by the relevant agencies, principally the Anti-Corruption Agency and the police," said Mohtar.

So as far as the AG's Chambers is concerned, the whole process of investigation and assessment of the investigation submitted to it is complete.

When asked if the case is closed, Mohtar said that "not only this case, any case, if you look at the prosecution policies, every case is thoroughly investigated If there is any evidence to review the case, we will review (it)".

"There is no such thing as a closed case as far as a criminal case is concerned. It is closed for the time being unless we come up with something,"he stressed.

Mohtar was speaking to reporters after delivering his keynote address at a conference for legal officers of the AG's Chamber and the launch of the AG Chamber's website.

Asked when the results of the investigation would be revealed, Mohtar merely said, "Soon."

Rise in legal action

Earlier, Mohtar stated that there was a rise in cases of legal action against government agencies, administrative officers and civil servants.

"This year, after the 1999 general elections, the civil division handled many cases of election petitions all over the country to defend the decisions of the Election Commission," he said.

Mohtar added that with the formation of the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam), the public is now more aware on issues of their rights as enshrined in Article 2 of the Federal Constitution.

"There is also a rise in cases being filed, challenging the authorities and administrative officers on issues of civil liberties, equality, the right to free speech, assembly and association as mentioned in the Federal Constitution," he added.