Direct petitions to the king are unusual, but the lawyers said they are taking the step because the government has failed to take the necessary action to clean up and restore judicial confidence.

Under Malaysia's constitution the king is empowered to appoint or remove judges, but only after consulting the government.

'The contents of the video are extremely serious and the judge should not stay a day longer. He should quit immediately,' said Harris Ibrahim, who initiated the petition. 'We want a royal commission to investigate the scandal followed by a major cleanup of the judiciary.'

Mr Abdullah is under increasing pressure from lawyers and opposition lawmakers to take decisive action. Critics have rejected a three-member panel that he appointed to verify the authenticity of the video as 'powerless'.

On Monday, de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who first released the video on September 19, was issued an official summons to name the whistle-blower who made the original tape or face prosecution.

Mr Anwar has refused unless the government appoints a royal commission to investigate the scandal and give special protection to the whistle-blower because of the dangers involved.

The Malaysian Bar and opposition political parties have also called for a royal commission because it has wide powers to investigate, offer protection and immunity, and compel witnesses to testify.

In a letter to The Wall Street Journal on Monday, Mr Anwar accused the government of rejecting a proper investigation of the scandal for fear of what it might throw up.

'Abdullah has rejected demands to establish a royal commission and instead has spent more than a month calling for verification of the authenticity of the video - a task that requires no more than a few hours of laboratory work,' Mr Anwar wrote.

The tape, made in 2002, shows a prominent lawyer on his cellphone allegedly talking to Judge Fairuz about fixing cases, and promoting Judge Fairuz and like-minded judges.