The five deputy ministers from Sarawak, implicated in an ongoing Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) probe , will submit a joint-letter to the premier to express their 'regret' over the matter.

They decided to submit the letter after a 20-minute meeting held between them in Parliament on Monday, said Deputy Transport Minister Douglas Uggah Embas.

Douglas, who is among the five, initially promised to provide a copy of the letter to malaysiakini but later said they decided to keep it confidential.

He also refused to elaborate on the content of the letter, which according to him will be submitted to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi by this week.

"We just want to express our feelings towards the whole issue, we think the statement (by the ACA) is too general," he said.

Douglas was referring to the recent statement made by Sarawak ACA director Mohd Jamidan Abdullah that a deputy minister from the state, whom he did not name, was being investigated for taking bribe.

The revelation has since sent the speculation mills into overdrive.

'One of the five'

Apart from Douglas, the other deputy ministers are Joseph Salang Gandum (Foreign Affairs), Robert Lau (Local Government and Housing), Dr Tiki Lafe (Rural and Regional Development) and Joseph Entulu (Prime Minister's Department).

All five have denied being investigated. The ACA chief had said the probe was initiated last November under Section 11a of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The five, were also quizzed on the matter by parliamentarians attending the two-day special Dewan Rakyat sitting this week to table amendments to the Water Bill.

It is learnt that some of their peers had even mocked them by greeting the deputy ministers as 'one of the five'.

Meanwhile, Lau said the ACA's unclear statement was 'unfair' and had 'caused much unpleasantness'.

"All of us share this same sentiment. The ACA state chief should have at least waited until the investigation is completed, see if there is any case and then make the statement," he said when met.