Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang said the upcoming appointment of former Information Minister Khalil Yaakob as the Malacca Yang di-Pertua Negri should to be deferred until he is cleared of corruption allegations lodged against him in two police reports.

This, he said, has to be done before be becomes the governor, as the new post entitles him to immunity from prosecution.

"Has he been cleared by the ACA for appointment as the Malacca governor?" Lim asked.

The opposition leader also questioned if the government had planned to suspend the ACA reports and investigations into the allegations that Khalil had flouted logging regulations while he was Pahang menteri besar.

In 2001, Beserah state assembly representative Fauzi Abdul Rahman claimed that the Umno liaison office under Khalil's stewardship had illegally extracted more logs than the quantity stipulated in its permit.

"What will happen to the corruption reports and the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) investigations involving Khalil, particularly in connection with his tenure as Pahang Menteri Besar concerning serious allegations of logging malpractices?" Lim posed in a statement.

Lim, who is DAP chairperson and Ipoh Timor MP, also asked the government to publicly reveal whether Khalil is one of the 18 'high ranking individuals' said to be under ACA probe.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to increase the pressure, Parti Keadilan Rakyat Malacca Youth chief S Jayathas today lodged a police report against Khalil - the third after Fauzi's and Keadilan Pahang Youth chief Razal Alias - on the same issue of logging concessions.

'Power-sharing' compact

Malacca Chief Minister Mohd Ali Rustam announced yesterday that Khalil will be appointed as the sixth Yang di-Pertua Negri of Malacca next Friday.

The veteran politician is also former Barisan Nasional and Umno secretary-general. He retired from active politics following his decision not to contest the recent general election.

Meanwhile, Lim said the people of Malacca have "legitimate grounds" to be disappointed for Khalil's appointment because an anak Malacca will not be appointed to the post.

Another reason, the DAP leader said, was the failure to honour the Merdeka compact in 1957 on 'power-sharing' that the posts of Malacca governor and chief minister would be alternated between the Malays and Chinese.

According to Lim, this compact was observed only once when Leong Yew Koh was appointed Malacca Governor immediately when the country achieved independence in 1957, but never honoured after that.