The 433-page report of the Royal Commission on the Police Force which was submitted to the King and the prime minister last Friday should be released to the public "in toto without censorship".

Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang issued this challenge to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today, noting that May 3 is World Press Freedom Day.

"The cabinet (which will have its weekly meeting tomorrow) should honour the fundamental principle of press freedom by upholding the freedom of information of all Malaysians and make two policy decisions...," he said.

One is to immediately release in full the Police Royal Commission report, along with its 125 recommendations.

The other is to ensure that all future reports of such independent commissions of inquiry be fully made public simultaneously on the day they are submitted to the authorities.

Lim argued that any attempt to deny to the public any portion of the commission report would only give rise to suspicion that the government has "things to hide about the police record or performance".

He lamented that the government had once broken its promise on ensuring that the Police Royal Commission would remain open and transparent.

"The failure last August to make public the interim report of the Police Royal Commission with the Deputy Internal Security Minister, Noh Omar, publicly breaking his promise made in Parliament to give me a copy is a blow to the credibility and integrity of the commission..."

No cover-up, please

Abdullah has yet to decide on whether to release the commission's final report to the public.

"In a genuine information society, there should have been no need for the prime minister to present the report to the cabinet for a decision whether it is to be made public, in full or in part," said the opposition leader.

The report by the 16-member commission was handed over by its head, former chief justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah, to the King and the prime minister in two separate functions last week.

The commission - known in full as the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operations and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police - was formed on Feb 4 last year.

It was tasked to investigate the role and responsibilities of the police in enforcing the country's laws, the human resource development for police personnel, the work ethics and procedures for police personnel and human rights issues related to police duties.

In its report, the commission will make recommendations to enhance and modernise the force in the wake of widespread public criticism of police corruption and brutality.

It was earlier given a one-year deadline to submit the recommendations to the King, which later was extended for another three months.