The royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into the death of Teoh Beng Hock will not release submissions that have been made to it, in order to prevent a trial by media.

azlan RCI secretary Saripuddin Kasim said that, after a meeting with all parties this morning, it was agreed that submissions by the conducting officers, Bar Council, and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will not be made public until the commission submits its report to the Agong.

"It is the prerogative of the Agong whether (or not) to make (public) the report, including the submissions,” he told reporters at a hastily-convened press conference today.

"All in all there are about 30,000 pages of documents, including verbatim statements, submissions and appendices to go through, before the commission draws up its findings."

The conducting officers and the Bar Council had handed in their submissions to the RCI on May 25, while the MACC provided its report two days later after appealing for an extension.

raja petra shafee abdullah sedition case 150808 04 Asked if the decision was made to avoid conclusions being drawn up by the media, MACC lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (right) said: "Submissions are submissions, they are not demanding of the commission. Therefore it is a good idea that the people don't do guesswork by reading submissions when both parties have filed over 340 pages each.

“We want to avoid the media picking perhaps the juicy parts and then not getting the gist of the entire submission.”

Bar Council lawyer Christopher Leong concurred that the content of the submissions are for the "consumption" of the commissioners in preparing their report.

"In the course of the preparation, they may or may not adopt some of the solutions which will then form part of their report,” he noted.

"Therefore, when the report is not out it is entirely inappropriate to reveal some of the content which they may rely on to incorporate in their report.”

However, the Bar Council and MACC agreed that the final report should be made public, in view of the publicity the case has attracted.

Delay explained

Explaining why the MACC had handed in its submission only last Friday, Shafee said it was due to a minor technicality.

Shafee said he was away at a six-day human rights event in Europe and faced a problem when his assistant, who was helping him reduce his initial 600-page submission, had to return to Malaysia due to an emergency.

The RCI had concluded evidence taking on May 10 after the 70 witnesses testified during the hearing which began on Feb 14.

azlan Teoh, 30, the political aide to state executive councillor and DAP's Seri Kembangan assemblyperson Ean Yong Hian Wah, was found dead on July 16, 2009 on the fifth floor landing of Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam after giving his statement overnight at the Selangor MACC office then located on the 14th floor of the building.

Teoh was called in as a witness into an investigation into alleged misuse of state funds by his employer, who has since been cleared of any wrongdoing due to lack of evidence.

The RCI was set up on Jan 26 to investigate the cause of Teoh's death after the coroner returned an open verdict. It will also evaluate the MACC's interrogation procedures.

The RCI will submit its report to the Agong on June 24.