Abdullah backs police report against newspapers

Abdullah backs police report against newspapers
KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 — Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday defended the police report lodged by the Prime Minister's Department against several newspapers for publishing the contents of the findings by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Datuk V.K. Lingam video clip.

Describing the move as "something which is neither right nor appropriate", the prime minister said the report should have been submitted to the government first.

He said the question whether to make the report public or to keep it confidential was for the government to decide and it was therefore not proper for any quarters to be ahead of the government in revealing the contents.

"This is important. Before the government makes any decision, it was not proper for any party to beat the government to it and reveal the contents of the report," he said.

Abdullah said: "This is not a proper thing to do. Those who have prepared the report may feel something is wrong, something that may be against the law. That is why a police report is made."

On claims that the commission's report was not subject to the Official Secrets Act, Abdullah said those concerned should have considered the need for the government to see the report first.

"This is important. The government has to see the report first. That is why when I was asked whether the report will be make public, I said, we have to look at it first. At that time I've not read the report... how can I say whether it will be made public?

"Even if I've read it, I still need to table it to the Cabinet. This has been the normal practice in handling reports by the other commissions," he said.

Abdullah went on: "You can argue and the other side can argue but the fact is, we have to see it first before we can make it public. If you ask me whether it is proper to reveal the contents of the report (before the government sees it), I will say it is not."

On the position of Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor in the wake of his involvement in the commission's investigations, Abdullah said the media should not speculate on the matter.

He said the matter should not be turned into a "public prosecution" as it could cause injustice to the individuals involved.

"The government has read the report and issued a statement. I have nothing more to add," he said.

Abdullah said report had been handed over to the Attorney-General. — Bernama