Minister who leaked classified Cabinet documents?

By Jeff Ooi,

UPDATED VERSION. It can only be mutually exclusive. Either the National Police Chief or the National News Agency had screwed up nationally.

In an about-turn within six hours, at 23:05hr today, Bernama over-ruled its own 17:08hr story by stating that there's no such thing as "a minister or ministers would be called up to assist in the probe on the leakage of the Cabinet Paper on the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) issue".

Admission of cock-up at 23:05hr, September 23, 2009

The original Bernama story was picked up and distributed to thousands of readers by two major online news portals, Malaysiakini and Malaysian Insider. However, both had made swift corrections after the cock-up was confirmed.

Flip-flop or cover-up? It's eggs-on-the face for two national-level authorities as the nation now has to grapple with the burden of trusting the right source of information related to a big national scandal.

ORIGINAL POSTING

Let's assume the national news agency is accurate in its report about the behaviour of ministers in Najib's Cabinet.

Original Bernama story at 17:08hr, September 23, 2009

According to Bernama, timelined 17:08hr, Musa Hassan -- the expired Inspector-General of Police validated on second extended time -- disclosed that a minister is expected to be among several individuals to be hauled up by police for questioning in connection with the leaked Cabinet papers on the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.

The purported 18-page 'Cabinet Paper' was posted on the RPK-run Malaysia-Today website last week.

It was claimed to be a memorandum issued by the Finance Ministry in June 2007, advising the Abdullah Badawi's cabinet to retrospectively approve a RM4.6 billion soft loan to fund the PKFZ project, making Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd the end-term beneficiary.

However, Musa did not reveal the name of the minister, or the individuals, who will be hauled up for investigation.

'Gua dah tahu!'

Interestingly, on September 19, Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat was quoted in Kwong Wah Yit Poh as saying that he had already known of the Cabinet leaks way before he became a minister. Read here.