Universiti Malaya's historian Prof Emeritus Dr Khoo Kay Khim has publicly apologised to Singapore-based Australian author Ian Ward for making an allegation that the latter was a British secret agent.

In a paid advertisement published in the latest edition of Ipoh Echo , Khoo retracted the statement he made on Aug 24 in Ipoh that Ward "was a MI5 agent". MI5 refers to Britain's domestic security intelligence agency Military Intelligence Section No 5.

"My statement was not supported by any credible source or authority and was therefore wholly untrue and erroneous I hereby unreservedly withdraw all imputations made by me upon the character, conduct and professional work of Mr Ian Ward," Khoo said.

"I wish to take this opportunity of unreservedly withdrawing the statement and all imputations upon Mr Ian Ward and to express my sincere regret and apologies for having made such a statement and I also apologise to Mr Ward's wife and co-author of Alias Chin Peng: My Side of History , Norma Miraflor, for the embarrassment my improper remark has caused her," he added.

Malaysiakini understands that Ward and Miraflor have decided not to claim any damages from Khoo who is also a government-appointed panel member of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).

Public seminar

Khoo made the remark in response to a question from the floor at a public seminar held in Ipoh's Syuen Hotel. Khoo was one of the two speakers at the function organised by the Perak Academy to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Malaysia's independence and was attended by some 500 people, including a royal member of the Perak Palace.

The other speaker was Malaysia's former ambassador to the United Nations and sacked editior-in-chief of the pro-government New Straits Times Abdullah Ahmad, who was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in the late 1970s for allegedly being a 'communist' and 'Russian spy'.

Abdullah Ahmad was also the political secretary to the second prime minister of Malaysia Tun Abdul Razak.

Ward, an Australian citizen who now lives and operates his book publishing business in Singapore, was a foreign correspondent for London's Daily Telegraph newspaper in the Southeast Asian region in the 1960s and 1970s.

Besides reporting on the Vietnam War and other armed conflicts in Indochina, Ward also reported on the May 13 riots in Kuala Lumpur in 1969.

Ward and his wife Miraflor are widely known as the co-author of Alias Chin Peng: My Side of History which tells the real-life story of Ong Boon Hua @ Chin Peng, a legendary veteran of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM).