The public will be the judge on the findings of the three-member inquiry panel set up to probe the authenticity of the controversial 'Lingam tape', its chief Haidar Mohd Noor said today.

The trio, who were appointed by the government on Sept 27, officially handed over their individual reports to the government today - two days before the Nov 9 deadline.

Asked whether justice will be done based on what the panel had found, Haidar told reporters: "I don't know, it's up to the people."

"I'm very happy that we have finished (our job) on time," he added.

He was speaking to the press after submitting his report to the panel secretariat at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.

The secretariat comprises several staff-members from the legal affairs division - led by its director-general Abdullah Sani Ab Hamid - of the Prime Minister's Department.

The panel had indicated its uncertainty as to whether its findings would be made public, saying it would leave this to the government to decide.

Haidar, who is the ex-chief judge of Malaya, declined comment on whether there was a split in the panel members' decision, thereby resulting in their individual reports.

"No, no, no, no comment," he said, as he tried to evade the media and leave the hotel, also telling the journalists that he had to attend a dinner.

As Haidar emerged from the meeting room about two hours after the meeting started at 3.30pm, he said there would be no further comment as a press statement had been issued by the secretariat.

The other panel members, former court of appeal judge Mahadev Shankar and politician-turned-social activist Lee Lam Thye refused to make any comment when approached by the media. They left 40 minutes earlier than Haidar.

Three-paragraph statement

In the brief statement, the panel said it had been "advised" that their reports are to be first submitted to the Chief Secretary to the Government Mohamad Sidek Hassan, by the secretariat.

"It is then for the chief secretary to hand the reports to the honourable Prime Minister (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi)," the three-paragraph statement read.

It added that the secretariat has been entrusted with the "responsibility of binding the reports together with the ancillary materials".

"The members of the panel wish to record (their) thanks to the officers of the secretariat, members of the media and everybody else who assisted in the one way or the other, to facilitate the completion of its investigation into the authenticity of the video clip," the statement noted.

Abdullah Sani, when asked why the report has to be first submitted to the chief secretary answered: "It must go through the chief secretary because I am under the chief secretary."

No witnesses have come forward to give evidence before the panel, apart from two digital forensic experts at a government-linked agency which the panel had engaged to obtain advice.

The panel has been widely criticised for its lack of powers to inquire into the controversy since it is restricted to looking into the authenticity of the clip and not the alleged 'judicial appointment fixing' that has caused public outrage.

The eight-minute clip, released by PKR on Sept 19, showed senior lawyer VK Lingam talking on the phone, allegedly with then Chief Judge of Malaya (and since Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim until he retired on Oct 31) on appointing 'friendly' judges.

Ahmad Fairuz has denied his involvement in the telephone conversation through a minister, while Lingam has been silent to date despite media attempts to obtain comments.

SPECIAL REPORT: The Lingam Tape