The Bar Council today urged High Court judge Muhammad Kamil Awang to lodge a police report immediately against the superior who pressured him to dismiss the Likas election petition.

"In the police report, Muhammad Kamil will be obliged to identify the caller," said council chairman Mah Weng Kwai.

Mah added that the council, which represents about 10,000 lawyers, reiterated its call for the police to carry out investigations into the allegation even if Muhammad Kamil does not lodge a report.

Mah said that the caller must be identified to avoid the public from speculating.

Muhammad Kamil disclosed last Friday that he received instructions by telephone in 1999 to dismiss the election petition. He instead ruled that the Likas electoral roll was illegal as it contained phantom voters.

The ruling forces former Sabah chief minister Yong Teck Lee, a member of a BN component party, to vacate his state assembly seat.

Phone call from top

Yesterday Muhammad Kamil said that the phone call was made by his superior in the judiciary but did not reveal the identity of this superior.

There were then three people higher in ranking in the judiciary who could have directed Muhammad Kamil - then Chief Justice Eusoff Chin, then Court of Appeal president Lamin Yunus and then Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Chong Siew Fai.

Chong and Lamin retired on July 4 last year and March 12 respectively.

Muhammad Kamil also said that he will inform the present Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah today the identity of the caller.

Meanwhile, Keadilan deputy president Chandra Muzaffar called on Dzaiddin to act with courage and "an abiding sense of responsibility" when he is informed about the identity of the caller.

"Since he would be privy to the name of the high-ranking official in the judicial hierarchy, he should immediately institute an official inquiry into the episode," said Chandra.

"Effective action against the culprit would be a demonstration of Dzaiddin's oft repeated claim that he is committed to the restoration of a fair, just and independent judiciary."

Quiet death

Reform movement Aliran said this alleged judicial misconduct should not be allowed to die a quiet death as it would make a "complete mockery" of Dzaiddin's attempts to improve the reputation of Malaysian judiciary.

"The reputation of the judicial system has suffered serious setbacks in recent years. Yet in recent weeks, honest, courageous and impartial judgments have been delivered," said the movement.

Aliran called for the establishment of a royal commission of inquiry which "will comprehensively and without compromise investigate many of the outstanding allegations of impropriety, misconduct and interference in our judicial system".