New identity for whistleblower
2007-10-08 17:14
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia has offered plastic surgery and a new identity to try to draw out the anonymous whistleblower behind a video clip purportedly showing judicial corruption, reports said on Monday.
Former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim unleashed a furore last month when he released the recording which appears to show a well-connected lawyer telling a senior judge he would push his name forward for a top appointment.
Cabinet minister Nazri Aziz said a probe into the clip will come to nothing if the whistleblower does not come forward to verify its authenticity, and assured they would receive full witness protection measures.
"They will not only be protected but can also undergo surgery to change their look," he said according to The Star daily.
Nazvi said that if the witness failed to come forward, "we can conclude that they are lying".
"The government will give the witness a new identity. So what is there to be afraid of?" he told the state Bernama news agency.
The government has set up an independent three-member panel to investigate the authenticity of the recording amid calls by opposition, lawyers and rights groups for a royal commission of inquiry.
Anwar has said the whistleblower will come forward only a full-blown royal commission is held, and if the government can guarantee his safety.
Two former heads of anti-corruption body Transparency International Malaysia have called on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to remove the judge for gross misconduct.
The video clip's contents "confirm the concerns expressed by many in the past on how our justice system has been manipulated by certain personalities", said Param Cumaraswamy, a former UN special rapporteur on judicial independence.
- AFP