The independent commission, which investigated a controversial video-clip featuring a woman police detainee being forced to do ear squats in the nude, has submitted its report to the King and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today.

When contacted, commission secretary Hamzah Md Rus said the report was handed to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Syed Putra Jamalullail at about 8.30am at the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Subang.

The King, accompanied by Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Shafie Apdal, was leaving for Kuwait.

The commission later submitted a copy of the report to Abdullah at his office in Putrajaya at about 5.10pm.

However, the premier did not call for a press conference.

Earlier, commission head former chief justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah said the premier will decide on whether to release the findings of the report, which is reportedly 345 pages and contains several recommendations, to the public.

He also said that Hamzah would brief the cabinet on Wednesday on the commission's findings.

As for their meeting with the King, Dzaiddin said he briefed the ruler on the terms of reference of the inquiry and the commission's findings.

"I can only tell you the first finding that everybody knows and the press has already covered everything, that is whether the person in the nude scene in the video clip is one of the five Chinese national women and the rest of our recommendations are in the report," he was quoted as saying by Bernama.

Public outrage

When the clip was first exposed by an opposition parliamentarian, there were speculations that the woman featured in it was a Chinese national.

However, during the commission's hearing, it was revealed that the woman was a Malay Malaysian held on drug-related charges.

The clip had sparked a huge controversy and drew flak from various quarters. This led the government to call for the formation of the independent commission.

The five-member commission concluded its hearings on Dec 16. A total of 16 witnesses were called to provide their testimonies during the five day-long proceedings.

So far, no one - including the Peeping-Tom police officer who allegedly taken the footage using his mobile phone - has been officially punished over the scandal.

However, China Press - the first newspaper to break the scandal - had been forced to terminate two of its top editors for erroneously reporting that the victim was a Chinese national.

Make it public

In a related development, DAP parliamentarian Fong Kui Lun urged for the findings to be made public.

"I feel regret over the statement that it will be up to the government to decide whether to release the report to the public.

"Why should the public and MPs be denied the first chance to read the report whereas the prime minister and the cabinet will have the golden chance to read it?" he asked in a statement.

He said this raised the question whether the current administration led by Abdullah was serious in eradicating the 'First-World Infrastructure, Third-World Mentality' Malaysian malaise.

"Instead of treating information as the personal property of the government, the government should start adopting the mindset that information be should regarded as the right of the people," he added.