The ex- Sarawak Tribune editor who was sacked over the caricature controversy is determined to defend himself against the latest accusations made against him by Idris Buang, the paper's editorial adviser.

The 41-year-old editor (name withheld for safety reasons) told malaysiakini today that he would meet the press in Kuching soon in the presence of his lawyer who, he added, is now studying yesterday's statement made by Idris with certain allegations that need to be answered.

All he would say at this stage was that when he re-joined the Sarawak Tribune about two years ago, he received a letter of appointment as a sub-editor and that this is the official post that he understands he held until asked to leave last week.

"This means as sub-editor, I cannot possibly be the editor and cannot be solely responsible for the final copy before it goes to print," he added.

The axed editor was the editor-on-duty on the day the offending caricature was published.

He also said the paper's group editor Toman Mamora was around when he finished the particular page where the offending caricature appeared and that the latter had looked at the print-out of the page before it went to the press.

This is the first time that Toman has been named as the senior editor who had approved the final page before it was sent to print. Toman could not be contacted for his reaction to this revelation.

In his comments, broadcast over national TV, radio and published in most papers in the country today, Idris - a lawyer by training and chief political secretary to Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud - named the editor-on-duty and accused him of intentionally inserting the caricature on the page.

"He slipped it in, he beat the system," Idris was quoted as saying. "He inserted it right before the crucial time, right before printing. Nobody had the chance to stop it."

He maintained that the editor concerned was solely responsible for the publication of the caricature demeaning Prophet Muhammad.

Contradictory statements

What Idris said contradicted the content in the two notices of apology by the publishers who said the editor in question had admitted it was an oversight on his part and he regretted it and that in consequence of that, he offered to resign voluntarily.

Another contradictory point in the publisher's notice and Idris' latest statement is that the management had asked the editor-on-duty to leave immediately on Saturday.

In an interview with malaysiakini yesterday, the sacked editor said he was asked to leave.

Meanwhile, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Youth deputy chief Karim Abdul Rahman Hamzah was quoted in local newspapers as saying today that there must be somebody (dalang) behind the work of the sacked editor.

Karim, who is also Asajaya state assemblyperson and one of Taib's political aides, is also believed to be unhappy with the role of the chief editor Toman but fell short of calling for his resignation.

Sources close to the chief minister said Taib, who is seeking medical treatment in Singapore, has not been informed of the affair.

The Sarawak Tribune , the state's oldest newspaper, is owned by Sarawak Press Sdn Bhd, which is a company linked to Taib's family business interests.

Local protests against the publication of the caricatures in the paper have been muted, except for the display of an anti- Sarawak Tribune banner in front of the old Masjid Negeri in Kuching yesterday.