Who really is VK Lingam?

Kanagalingam Veluppillai, 56, began his career by serving several multinational and local companies in various senior management positions between 1973 and 1983.
While serving as human resources manager in UMW Holdings under the stewardship of Eric Chia (who later headed Perwaja Steel Holdings), he left to study law at the University of Buckingham, England, and graduated in 1985.
On his return, he re-joined UMW as its group legal advisor in 1985, but started his own practice four years later.

Eusoff denied that the holiday was paid for by Lingam - as had been alleged - and they had merely bumped into one another. It was revealed later that the two had been on same flight from Singapore to Auckland.
Following the discovery of the photos, the Bar Council sought to take disciplinary action against
Lingam in 1996. He sued the Bar Council and won - then High Court judge Azmel Maamor decided against the Bar Council for failure to furnish names of the disciplinary board members.

Notable court cases
1996 was to prove a busy year for Lingam, as lawyer or litigant in a number of notable court cases.


Pillai’s appeal to the Federal Court was heard by a three-member panel led by Eusoff, who upheld the finding but reduced the quantum of damages to RM2 million.
Still in 1996, Lingam filed three defamation suits for a total of RM190 million against lawyers, journalists and several others over an article in the International Commercial Litigation (ICL) magazine.
The article ‘Malaysian Justice on Trial’ published in the November issue of the British-based magazine had suggested that Lingam and Tan had connections with judges, namely in the controversial Ayer Molek case and Tan’s suit against Pillai.
It was only last year that High Court judge Hishamudin Yunus dismissed the suit filed against the magazine and said it was Lingam’s wrongful conduct in the Ayer Molek case that had led to the publication of the article.
Hishamudin said Lingam was guilty of “abusing and manipulating the process of court” in filing the action in the appellate and special powers division of the High Court instead of the commercial division.
Malaysian-based Asian Wall Street Journal correspondent, Raphael Pura - who was also sued by Lingam - had alleged that Lingam himself had penned part of High Court judge Mokhtar Sidin’s judgment on the Pillai case.

An audit report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers into the ailing company’s records was ordered by former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim. The report disclosed that Lingam had been paid RM12 million for his services.

The spotlight is now back on Lingam - on Sept 18, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim released a grainy eight-minute video clip of the lawyer on the phone, apparently revealing his influence in brokering judicial appointments.
By inference, the conversation appeared to involve current Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim. Neither has openly denied the claims to date, although the latter is said to have contacted de facto law minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz with a denial.
Lingam is now on the board of directors in network marketing Cosway Corporation Bhd, a subsidiary of Berjaya Group.
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