PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim was slapped with a notice from the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) today compelling him to hand in the original Lingam video clip or risk going to jail.

Failure to adhere to the notice, which is issued under the 1997 Anti-Corruption Act, would result in the opposition leader being liable to a fine up to RM10,000 or a maximum two-year jail term, or both.

Three ACA officers led by its special task branch head Sazali Salbi ( photo below, right ) issued the ultimatum to Anwar after a three-hour meeting at the former deputy premier's Petaling Jaya office.

On emerging from the meeting, the trio refused to speak to the press.

Anwar has been given until Thursday to comply with the order. However, he remained non-committal when asked if he would hand over the full video clip.

"(The release of the remaining clip) is subject to the whistleblowers. They want to be protected, (and) I can't protect their personal security," he told a press conference after the meeting.

"The guarantee of their personal safety and immunity from legal action are yet unanswered questions that must be addressed in order for the remainder of the tape to be released."

Anwar had on Sept 19 released the explosive eight-minute clip, which he said was the first part of a 14-minute clip.

He argued that the remaining portion of the clip could not be revealed as yet to protect the identity of the two whistleblowers.

At today's press conference, Anwar reiterated the need to set up a royal commission of inquiry to investigate the allegations raised in the clip, which has since sparked an uproar within the legal fraternity and among the public.

Directive came from the 'top'

According to Anwar, the ACA notice today was issued on a directive from the "top".

The order came despite that he had volunteered earlier at the meeting to supply the ACA with a "genuine copy" of the eight-minute clip, which he said was sufficient to authenticate the clip.

ACA has argued that the video clip given to the agency was not good enough to prove the clip's authenticity.

Anwar said he would provide a copy of the video clip that "can be authenticated" so that the authorities will have no reason not to proceed with the investigation.

According to him, PKR had earlier given ACA a copy of the clip in the form of a compact disc.

However, he said the original copy, which was still with the two whistleblowers, will be obtained from them in the next few days and this will be stored in a thumb drive before handing over to the ACA.

"But after completing the statement and despite my undertaking, the ACA officers received an instruction (through mobile phone) ... to issue an order to me compelling me to submit the original videotape recording," he said.

Anwar described the ACA's concern on the authenticity of the clip as an "anathema" as he pointed out none of the individuals named in the tape had come out openly to deny the matter.

He added that the opposition party would also release in the near future the views of video experts they had consulted.

Among those present at the press conference were Anwar's lawyers - R Sivarasa, William Leong and Sankara Nair.

Lingam named by ACA

Interestingly, in the ACA notice that was given to Anwar today, the agency has for the first time named lawyer Lingam.

It said the phone conversation was "said to be between VK Lingam and a senior judge in 2002". [See below]

According to media reports, the ACA was said to have called in Lingam for questioning, as well as a business tycoon - believed to be Vincent Tan - who was named in the tape but it is not known whether the agency had verified the person in the clip was indeed Lingam.

Today was ACA's second visit to Anwar's office over the Lingam tape controversy. At their first meeting on Oct 5, the ACA officials had grilled him on the identity of the whistleblowers.

The grainy eight-minute video clip showed Lingam in a telephone conversation allegedly with Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim on appointing 'friendly' judges.

Ahmad Fairuz, who was the chief judge of Malaya at the time, has denied his involvement through de facto law minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz.

Anwar was the third person to be slapped with the ACA notice.

Previously, Sivarasa - who is also PKR vice-president - and Anwar's aide Sim Tze Tzin were also given the similar notice, demanding that they reveal the source of the video clip.

They have however refused to comply , saying they are concerned with the safety of the informants.

ACA visits Anwar - watch 4-min video clip