Rafizi fears same 'rich elites' behind VK Lingam involved in latest crisis

Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli has expressed fear that the same "ultra-rich elites" who were behind the VK Lingam scandal may be involved in the crisis plaguing the judiciary now.

Contrary to popular belief, he said some of the major cases in the courts at the moment are not those that involve Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

"Unknown to many people, the big cases that I think are going through the (court) process now involve the elites that Anwar calls the mahakaya.

"The same people who were behind Lingam then, my fear, are the same people who have an interest in making sure that the judiciary is reconstituted in such a way that when the big cases go through, they win," Rafizi said at a forum in Kuala Lumpur tonight.

READ MORE: Revisiting the VK Lingam tape

When asked by the media to elaborate on his claim, Rafizi instead asked reporters to try to connect the dots by cross-checking the cases in the Lingam scandal and big cases that are currently ongoing in the court.

The latest crisis stemmed from judicial vacancies that followed the retirement of chief justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and Court of Appeal president Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, with no successors named.

Purported minutes leaked

Putrajaya had been accused of interference in judicial appointments.

On Saturday, Malaysiakini reported that an alleged excerpt of a JAC meeting minutes from May was leaked on social media.

The minutes supposedly contain allegations echoing those in a leaked police report lodged in June on behalf of a senior judge, who had been accused of judicial interference.

The police report was lodged after Malaysiakini contacted the judge on June 12 seeking comment on certain allegations involving the judge reportedly made during a JAC meeting.

Last week, nine PKR lawmakers led by Rafizi called for a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) as well as the Parliament Special Select Committee on reforms to probe the allegations.

Tomorrow, the Malaysian Bar will march to hand over a memorandum to the prime minister, calling for an RCI, among other demands.

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