Members of parliament are free to discuss issues pertaining to Burma but there is no need for a resolution on it to be adopted by Parliament, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi explained today.

"I allow them to discuss but I don't think a resolution is needed. It is more important for them to convey what they think about the situation in Burma, that's freedom of expression," he told reporters after delivering his keynote address at the World Ethics and Integrity Forum in Kuala Lumpur today.

And that was all the prime minister would say about the issue. He brushed aside further queries on his instruction to withdraw the motion on Burma in Parliament yesterday.

"I am not going deeper into this," Abdullah said, adding that he has more important issues to address.

On Wednesday, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz told Parliament that the motion was withdrawn on the premier's order following the military junta's protest that it would be an attempt to 'undermine' the country.

Nazri, overseeing parliamentary affairs, said the government did not want to be involved directly or indirectly in the motion, which could be seen as interfering in the internal affairs of Burma.

Unhappy Zaid

But he added that MPs would be allowed to raise and discuss the issue when debating any bill.

The withdrawal is believed to have caused much unhappiness to Umno backbencher Zaid Ibrahim, who moved the motion in his capacity as the chairperson of the bi-partisan Parliamentary Caucus on Burma.

The motion was to be debated yesterday.

It seeks to defer Burma from taking over the Asean chairmanship until its government releases all political detainees and moves towards restoring democracy in the country.

Human rights groups described the withdrawal as a setback to Malaysia's spearheading efforts in leading the campaign to defer the Asean chair to Burma. They accused the government of ' kowtowing ' to the Burmese generals.