PKR information chief Tian Chua said he will not attend any investigation proceedings by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) against him.

He said his blog post, which is MCMC's subject of investigation, was clear enough for the commission to determine if he can be charged for breaching any law.

"I will not attend any MCMC investigations. The evidence is objective - go on the Internet and read my blog post and make a judgement," he told a press conference at the PKR headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today.

On Tuesday, Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin lodged a report with the MCMC against Tian Chua over a blog post, which was claimed to have violated the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

The commission does not have the power to shut down blogs but offenders could be held accountable for contents and statements published which it deems false and menacing.

The blog post contained a photo montage purportedly depicting Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak dining with his political advisor Abdul Razak Baginda and slain Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Abdul Razak, who has close ties with Najib, is the third accused in the ongoing Altantuya murder trial.

He was charged with abetting police Special Action Squad (UTK) chief inspector Azilah Hadri, 30 and lance corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 36 in the murder.

The deputy prime minister has vehemently denied any involvement in the case, which is seen by observers as a test of Malaysia's judicial and political integrity.

"I really still do not see why Najib should be so sensitive about the whole thing, if he knew the woman, he should just admit it, if he doesn't know, he just deny it, that's all," said Tian.

Tian said he merely wanted Najib to detail his connection to the case and the murdered woman. "I have not defamed anyone," he said.

Dire warnings

Despite the volley of criticism from Barisan Nasional leaders, Tian Chua refused to apologise, adding that the photo montage was his take on the circumstances surrounding the testimony of prosecution witness Burmaa Oyunchimeg.

On June 29, Burmaa told the Shah Alam High Court that she was once shown a photograph of the murder victim dining with Abdul Razak and a government official known only as "Najib Razak."

Najib refused to comment on Burmaa's testimony but maintained his previous position that he had never met Altantuya before.

During today's press conference, Tian Chua warned of dire consequences on the right to freedom of expression in this country based on reactions to the photograph in his blog.

He said while Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had stomached numerous attempts to lampoon him in the media and online, the same could not be said about his deputy.

"There is no reason for Najib to be so concerned over a very small photo montage, which in actual fact says nothing about his involvement (in the murder trial)," he said.

"(It seems that) our designated future prime minister has a level of tolerance that is much lower than our present one. That is quiet dangerous. He is not even the premier, yet he mobilises chief ministers, cabinet ministers and Umno Youth to criticise (me).

"If this is the trend, it is very dangerous when Najib becomes the prime minister. You can imagine what kind of space we will have (left) on the Internet," he added.

Umno Youth did it too

Also at the press conference was PKR supreme council member Latheefa Koya who took Umno Youth to task for criticising Tian Chua, when Umno Youth itself had posted a similar photo montage posted on its website in 2005.

The photo, which was later removed, contained the superimposed faces of opposition leaders, including PKR de-facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, on the cover of the book, Alias Chin Peng: My Side of History .

The book was the autobiography of the former Communist Party of Malaya secretary-general, who now lives in exile.

"Why are they (Umno Youth) selective?... These are also doctored pictures,"said Latheefa, adding that PKR did not lodge a report on the matter because the party believed in freedom of expression.

To a question, PKR secretary-general Khalid Ibrahim, who was also present, said the party was of the position that Tian Chua was entitled to his own opinion in his personal blog.

"There are a number of members who have their own blog. As far as we are concerned, we do not constrain our party members from having blogs, which they are responsible for," he said.