The government will not investigate a US report which said a man with the same name as Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was involved in an oil scam with the former Iraqi regime.

"There is no truth in the allegation, so why should we investigate?" Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told reporters at Parliament lobby today when asked on the progress of the investigation.

He said the Foreign Ministry also did not probe the Malaysian connections in the report nor was any protest note sent to the US.

Apart from 'Abdullah Badawi', also named in the report were state-owned oil company Petronas, a former Malaysian ambassador, two Malaysian companies and an immigrant to Malaysia.

"This issue has been circulated in the newspaper, but there is nothing, no evidence. It was just picked up by the media. I think we don't need to react (to it).

"Just leave it as that as there is no need to continue debating on the subject," the minister said.

However, Syed Hamid's remarks today contradicted with his earlier statement when the issue first came into the media limelight following an exclusive report by malaysiakini on Oct 8.

'Absolutely no proof'

The following day, the premier denied his involvement in the illicit deal involving the now defunct-UN-oil-for-food programme and ordered a probe to "find out how come my name is there" while the foreign minister said his ministry would conduct an investigation as "there is absolutely no proof" to implicate the premier in the report.

Syed Hamid also said authorities would investigate malaysiakini for reporting on the issue to ascertain the online daily's "motive in dragging our prime minister's name into it".

A report released by the Iraq Survey Group (ISG) on Oct 6 had listed a Malaysian by the name of 'Abdullah Badawi' as having been given vouchers to sell two million barrels of Iraqi oil through a company called Tradeyear.

The report, which did not identify the buyer as the Malaysian prime minister, alleged the person had sold 1.95 million barrels and estimated the profit could be as high as US$0.65 per barrel.

The ISG study said Saddam Hussein used foreign companies and governments to raise revenues in violation of United Nations (UN) sanctions and paid millions of dollars in cash and petrol export vouchers.

The report also implicated notable world leaders such as former Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri, French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua, former Russian presidential candidate Vladimir Zhirinovsky and former head of the UN oil-for-food programme Benon Sevan as having benefitted from the deal but these leaders have since denied their involvement.

Latest 'casualty'

The latest prominent individual allegedly found to have benefitted from the illicit deal was UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's son, Kojo - according to an independent UN panel headed by former Federal Reserve Chairperson Paul Volcker.

Kojo is alleged to have received payments as recently as early this year from a key contractor in the oil-for-food programme.

Annan has denied he had personal involvement in granting of contracts to companies that participated in the oil-for-food programme but expressed his "disappointment" and conceded that the news creates the perception "of conflict of interests and wrongdoing" at the United Nations.

However, the UN chief has declined to comment on the call made by senior US Senator Norm Coleman in demanding the former to resign.

Responding on the issue today, Syed Hamid threw his support behind Annan and urged the international community "not to be so quick in passing judgement".