No stranger to causing uproars, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz struck again today. This time over the VK Lingam issue.

According to the de facto law minister, the prominent lawyer, famed for his "correct, correct, correct" phrase, had not broken the law.

gobind suspended from parliament 160309 nazri The statement is the latest in a series of conflicting views over the matter, with the last coming from Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein who told Parliament on Oct 29 that the infamous video clip was still being probed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Nazri, who had opposition MPs up in arms with his remark, told the Dewan Rakyat that Lingam's alleged brokering of judges may be morally wrong, but there are no specific laws against it.

"His actions can undermine and erode the integrity of the judiciary, but things must be viewed from a legal perspective…moral and legal must be separated," he said.

The minister said that the recording of the telephone conversation involving Lingam may have just been an act or an attempt to show off on the lawyer's part.

"Lingam can say that he wants to help someone get appointed, but we don't know if he had actually gone to the (then) prime minister and instructed him to appoint a certain judge," he said.

Karpal told to suggest an act

Responding to a question from Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor), Nazri said the Attorney-General's Office has looked into the possibility of charging Lingam under the Sedition Act, but to no avail.

He then invited Karpal, who is a veteran lawyer, to draw on his vast legal experience and suggest an act under which Lingam could be charged.

Quizzed by William Leong (PKR-Selayang) on whether he agreed that the AG should share the details of the case with Karpal, Nazri said this did fall under his jurisdiction.

"The attorney general is an independent party, so I cannot instruct him to do anything. If I do so, you will go to town saying I have influenced the process," he said.

vk lingam ahmad fairuz chief justice video sequence Regarding the holiday taken by former chief justice Eusoff Chin and Lingam to New Zealand, Nazri said that MACC investigations show that it was not a coincidence as both had used the same travel agent.

However, the commission found that no crime has been committed as both parties had paid for their own respective holidays.

He also said that further investigations cannot be undertaken as a key witness could not be located.

Nazri, however, refused to name the witness to protect the person's identity, and advised interested MPs to approach him outside the house for more information.

'Bag full of cash'

Asked by Wee Choo Keong (DAP-Wangsa Maju) about the statement made by Lingam's brother to the royal commission saying that he had allegedly carried a bag full of cash to the home of a former judge, Nazri said that this cannot be dragged into the same case.

"I do not deny that was wrong, but it has nothing to do with the case of brokering for the appointment of judges," he said.

A video footage showing Lingam allegedly brokering the appointment of judges was released by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim in 2007.

Lingam was said to be talking on the phone with former chief justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, but the latter denied this.

The video clip unleashed a furore in Malaysia and subsequently a five-member inquiry commission was set up to probe the matter found it to be authentic and implicated prominent personalities.