Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah today said that he was in no position to direct the Kota Kinabalu High Court judge to reveal the identity of the caller who had tried to influence the outcome of the Likas election petition.

"It is not for me to direct him what to do because the allegation formed part of his judgment," said Dzaiddin at a press conference at his office.

"It is up to the judge, Muhammad Kamil Awang, whether or not to disclose the identity of the caller," added Dzaiddin.

Dzaiddin said that it was not his practice or a judicial policy to interfere by directing the judges to decide their cases or write their judgments.

On June 8, Muhammad Kamil in his judgment alluded that there was an apparent attempt to influence his decision over the telephone.

"In my view, it is an insult to one's intelligence to be given a directive over the phone that these petitions should be struck off without a hearing," he said, adding that he decided "truly to act as a judge and not a 'yes man'".

He ruled that the Likas electoral roll was illegal as it contained phantom voters and ordered former Sabah chief minister Yong Teck Lee, a member of a BN component party, to vacate his state assembly seat.

The ruling paved way for a by-election. The petition was brought by two other losing candidates in the 1999 state elections - veteran politician and former Sabah chief minister Mohd Harris Salleh and PBS supreme council member Chong Eng Leong.

Muhammad Kamil's revelation drew immediate response from various quarters.

Judicial inquiry

Opposition party DAP called upon the Chief Justice to order a judicial inquiry into the matter while others, including Minister in the Prime Minister's department Dr Rais Yatim asked Muhammad Kamil to disclose the identity of the caller.

"He cannot just say that he received a directive over the phone that the petitions be struck off without revealing the identity of the caller. I call upon him to come forward and disclose the name of the caller and the reason the call was made," said Rais.

He added that any call to a judge containing a threat or directive to strike off or amend the case was wrong and could be considered as contempt of court. DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang said the caller must be identified and prosecuted in court.

Dzaiddin also said that he found Muhammad Kamil's remarks to be a "very serious allegation".

Justice Muhammad Kamil was unavailable for comments. His office staff at Kota Kinabalu said that he had returned to Kuala Lumpur on Friday after delivering his judgment.