GTR Pete,
Thanks for pointing out.I got a friend to put the panniers back for me and I too did not realise that he had wrongly put them backwards until you pointed out the mistake.I put them back correctly but outta curiousity I put them backwards again and to my surprise the handles would still lock.
Breeze,
Malaysian price OTR = RM 105 k= around USD 33-34 k.