Housing and Local Government Minister Ong Ka Ting today remained evasive on police investigation into the June 29 Dewan Tunku Canselor fire, claiming it has raised "a lot of question marks".

However, the minister did not elaborate beyond saying, "Maybe they (the police) found some other aspect during the investigation and are still looking at it."

The pre-dawn blaze destroyed the 40-year-old hall in Universiti Malaya, incurring an estimated loss of RM12 million.

Asked if the government would reveal the findings, Ong said it would be more appropriate to pose the question to Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who oversees the police force.

Ong also refused to comment on whether Abdullah had updated the cabinet on the status of the investigation.

Many Umno politicians blamed 'militant students' for torching DTC as a sign of protest against the government. Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was scheduled to attend a conference at the hall the next day.

The police, the Fire and Rescue Department, Chemistry Department and Tenaga Nasional conducted their respective investigations into the incident.

In July, the Fire and Rescue Department submitted its report to Ong to be presented to the cabinet.

Ong subsequently said the report had been given to the police for their conclusion.

Sabotage

However, in August, Abdullah said the government could not come up with a conclusive report as there were irregularities in the reports submitted by the various departments.

Prior to that, it was reported that the Fire and Rescue Department had attributed the cause of the fire to DTC's old wiring system and electricity overload.

The Malay Mail also reported from sources within the department that a short-circuit was the probable cause.

But Housing and Local Government Deputy Minister M Kayveas refuted the report and insisted that the blaze was a "sabotage".

To date, police have interviewed at least 33 people, including students, university staff and lecturers.