KUALA LUMPUR: The findings of the Lingam video clip inquiry do not form a basis for prosecution until a thorough investigation is concluded, lawyers said.

Retired federal prosecutor Datuk Stanley Isaacs said the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam video clip was not the "last word".

"We have to establish and identify precisely if offences were committed under the Legal Profession Act or other laws.

"For criminal prosecution, the attorney-general must determine if there is a basis for prosecution before he prefers charges. Until then, the commission's report remains recommendatory," Isaacs said.

DAP chairman Karpal Singh, the member of parliament for Bukit Gelugor, said the personalities cited in the commission's report were presumed innocent until proven guilty.
"It will be premature for anyone at this point of time to suggest that any criminal offence has been committed by any one of them," he said in George Town.

"It is my view that they are entitled to a fair police investigation and a fair trial before criminal culpability is proven."

Karpal said the attorney-general had to conduct an indepth probe to prove the charges against those whose conduct had been impugned.

Senior lawyer Sankaran N. Nair said the standard of the commission's findings was lower than the outcome of investigations, which should unearth evidence beyond reasonable doubt.

"The burden of proof will be higher with the A-G. This is why the investigating agency must be able to build up a strong case for prosecution."

The lawyers, however, all agreed that the attorney-general must not be deterred by his uphill task.

"A lot of credibility is at stake for investigators, so that there will not be a reason for the A-G to dismiss the case for lack of evidence," Nair said.

Karpal said priority had to be given to the cabinet directive as it was the first time a Royal Commission of Inquiry had called for an investigation on such a scale, including of personalities such as former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

On Friday, as it made the commission's report public, the cabinet directed the attorney-general to order investigations into the six personalities named by the commission for possibly having broken laws, including the Sedition Act, Official Secrets Act, Penal Code, Prevention of Corruption Act and the Legal Profession Act.

Besides Dr Mahathir, the other five are retired chief justices Tun Mohd Eusoff Chin and Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, former minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor, tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan and lawyer Datuk V.K. Lingam.

Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan called on the attorney-general to thoroughly, quickly and fairly investigate those implicated.

She did not see any difficulty in conducting investigations.