Indonesian daily Kompas apologised to Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Malaysians over an inaccurate report it had published relating to a naval incident in the Sulawesi Sea early last month.

The report was related to the brushing of the Royal Malaysian Navy vessel KD Rencong and the Indonesian navy vessel KRI Tedung Naga on April 15 in an area of the Sulawesi Sea claimed by both countries.

According to Bernama today, Kompas ' editor-in-chief Suryopratomo, in a report, said the daily had not received any verification from Najib, who is also defence minister, before carrying a report that Malaysia had apologised to Indonesia over the naval incident.

Najib had issued a strong denial over the report which claimed that the deputy premier had tendered a verbal apology to Indonesia over the incident.

Kompas had also reported that Indonesian Defence Attache in Kuala Lumpur Kol Hartind Hazrin, who was said to be the source of the news, had admitted that he had never met Najib.

Issue settled

The daily said that with the apology, the issue of the misreporting had been settled amicably. The newspaper said it had never intended to tarnish Najib's image.

Meanwhile, Kompas also quoted Najib's press secretary Akmar Hisham Mokhles as saying that the deputy premier was disappointed because he was not contacted by Kompas for verification.

Akmar Hisham was also quoted as saying that Kompas should have been careful with such a report, especially when it could undermine the relationship between the two countries and Najib's good name.

The Sulawesi tensions sparked off following the awarding of oil concessions by Petronas to a foreign company in the disputed area.