"Malaysians' corruption covered up

Correction: Tengku Razaleigh

On 5 February 1994, the Independent published an article headed "Malaysians' corruption covered up" containing a number of statements and insinuations about Tengku Razaleigh Ham-zah, the former Minister of Finance of Malaysia. The article quoted a letter purportedly from George Tan, chairman of Carrian, a Hong Kong company, in which he wrote to Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah saying he was making 25 million shares in Carrian available to him.

Our report was based on information which at the time we had no reason to doubt. We now accept that Tengku Razaleigh does not know George Tan and had never been offered 25 million shares in Carrian. We are now satisfied that the allegations of corruption, in so far as they reflected upon Tengku Razaleigh, are unfounded and that he is a highly respected senior politician in Malaysia.

If any reader may have drawn the impression from our article that it was intended to suggest that Tengku Razaleigh was connected, either directly or indirectly, with the death of Jalil Ibrahim, a bank auditor who had made inquiries into the ownership of the shares, this is very much regretted and was not intended.

We apologise unreservedly to Tengku Razaleigh for any distress or embarrassment caused by our article.

The settlement of Tengku Razaleigh's action against the Independent was the subject of a statement in the High Court yesterday in which we agreed to pay him a substantial sum by way of compensation and his costs.