Who is attempting to murder the truth?
Published: Jan 10, 2015 7:55 AM | Updated: Jan 10, 2015 11:24 PM
COMMENT What an unmitigated disaster. An attempt at damage control has caused even more damage instead.
A week ago, most Malaysians were unaware about the existence of alleged gambling kingpin Paul Phua or the transnational criminal outfit 14K.
But now the two are household names, thanks to Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
It has since turned into a high stakes game for the home minister and Umno-linked legal eagle - both of whom are credited for giving the Najib administration its first scandal of 2015.
Since then, similar to a thriller, there have been numerous twists and turns, which have left the audience with plenty of questions, chief of them - who is attempting to murder the truth?
COMMENT
The twists and turns in the ‘kingpin’ saga have raised questions.
COMMENT What an unmitigated disaster. An attempt at damage control has caused even more damage instead.
A week ago, most Malaysians were unaware about the existence of alleged gambling kingpin Paul Phua (left) or the transnational criminal outfit 14K.
But now the two are household names, thanks to Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
It has since turned into a high stakes game for the home minister and Umno-linked legal eagle - both of whom are credited for giving the Najib administration its first scandal of 2015.
Since then, similar to a thriller, there have been numerous twists and turns, which have left the audience with plenty of questions, chief of them - who is attempting to murder the truth?
Scene One: The poker player and the minister
Paul Phua, who is Shafee’s client, is standing trial in the United States after being arrested in July last year in Las Vegas for allegedly running an illegal gambling operation. He is accused by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of being part of the 14K triad.
A Dec 18, 2014 letter penned by Zahid to FBI deputy director Mark F Guiliano has been revealed. It defends Phua and claims that he has assisted the Malaysian government in national security matters.
The letter was tendered to the court by Phua’s legal team on Dec 29, but abruptly withdrawn hours later apparently due to objection from Putrajaya.
Scene two: Umno’s legal eagle swoops in
Shafee claims that Zahid penned the letter to set the record straight in defence of a Malaysian because the police here made a “very big” mistake in their findings that Phua is a 14K triad member - a piece of information used by FBI to try to nail Phua. And the lawyer supposedly learned about the erroneous findings from a senior police officer.
He says Bukit Aman erred in linking Phua to the triad because 14K does not exist in Malaysia.
Scene three: Police arrive at the scene
Trapped between the need to defend his officers and his boss, inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar provides a subtle denial, stating that while the 14K did not operate here, Malaysians abroad are known to be among its members.
He refuses to comment further, saying it would jeopardise court proceedings in the US, but stresses that his silence is not out of fear for Zahid.
Police sources later tell Malaysiakini that Zahid did not consult the IGP about the letter and they defended their findings.
Scene four: Shafee does the twist
Insisting that his client was wronged, the lawyer dismisses the police sources’ version and says he will “stick to what the IGP had said” though the police chief had said almost nothing.
He then blames the media for twisting his statements, and refuses to entertain other queries on the media. The lawyer scurries off.
Scene five: The opposition cavalry rides in
The usual suspects open fire on Zahid and Shafee, with PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli accusing the minister of breaching diplomatic convention in bypassing Wisma Putra to issue the letter.
He plans to file a police report against the duo as well.
Scene six: IGP returns fire with rubber bullets
Responding to Shafee’s insistence that the police had erred, Khalid once again repeats his subtle denial - Malaysians abroad are known to be members of 14K. But he adds another twist to the mystery.
Hinting that the police’s findings were correct, he says that people can interpret his remarks in whatever manner they want but he will continue to remain silent.
Scene seven: Zahid makes comeback
He reportedly claims that his Dec 18, 2014 letter to the FBI was "to confirm" that 14K did not exist in Malaysia. Left unsaid is his implication that, therefore, Phua cannot be a member of the criminal organisation.
According to him, the letter was requested by the legal firm Chesnoff & Schonfeld, which is representing Phua and his son.
Scene eight: Veteran actor ropes in ‘ostrich’ PM
Responding to Zahid, DAP grandmaster Lim Kit Siang says the minister "would have failed his (English) comprehension test in school if he really believed in what he said" in the letter.
Zahid's letter, he says, went further than ‘confirming’ that the 14K triad did not exist in the country.
According to him, Zahid had vouched for the character of Phua and as good as declared him a national asset.
He demands an explanation from the prime minister and at the same time wonders if he will resort to his normal routine of “burying his head in the sand” in times of crisis.
The climax
Stay glued to Malaysiakini as we bring you the latest developments concerning this saga.
As for some other posers which have cropped up from the above scenes, they are as follows:
A week ago, most Malaysians were unaware about the existence of alleged gambling kingpin Paul Phua (left) or the transnational criminal outfit 14K.But now the two are household names, thanks to Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
It has since turned into a high stakes game for the home minister and Umno-linked legal eagle - both of whom are credited for giving the Najib administration its first scandal of 2015.
Since then, similar to a thriller, there have been numerous twists and turns, which have left the audience with plenty of questions, chief of them - who is attempting to murder the truth?
Scene One: The poker player and the minister
Paul Phua, who is Shafee’s client, is standing trial in the United States after being arrested in July last year in Las Vegas for allegedly running an illegal gambling operation. He is accused by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of being part of the 14K triad.
A Dec 18, 2014 letter penned by Zahid to FBI deputy director Mark F Guiliano has been revealed. It defends Phua and claims that he has assisted the Malaysian government in national security matters.
The letter was tendered to the court by Phua’s legal team on Dec 29, but abruptly withdrawn hours later apparently due to objection from Putrajaya.
Scene two: Umno’s legal eagle swoops in
Shafee claims that Zahid penned the letter to set the record straight in defence of a Malaysian because the police here made a “very big” mistake in their findings that Phua is a 14K triad member - a piece of information used by FBI to try to nail Phua. And the lawyer supposedly learned about the erroneous findings from a senior police officer.He says Bukit Aman erred in linking Phua to the triad because 14K does not exist in Malaysia.
Scene three: Police arrive at the scene
Trapped between the need to defend his officers and his boss, inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar provides a subtle denial, stating that while the 14K did not operate here, Malaysians abroad are known to be among its members.
He refuses to comment further, saying it would jeopardise court proceedings in the US, but stresses that his silence is not out of fear for Zahid.
Police sources later tell Malaysiakini that Zahid did not consult the IGP about the letter and they defended their findings.
Scene four: Shafee does the twist
Insisting that his client was wronged, the lawyer dismisses the police sources’ version and says he will “stick to what the IGP had said” though the police chief had said almost nothing.
He then blames the media for twisting his statements, and refuses to entertain other queries on the media. The lawyer scurries off.
Scene five: The opposition cavalry rides in
The usual suspects open fire on Zahid and Shafee, with PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli accusing the minister of breaching diplomatic convention in bypassing Wisma Putra to issue the letter.
He plans to file a police report against the duo as well.
Scene six: IGP returns fire with rubber bullets
Responding to Shafee’s insistence that the police had erred, Khalid once again repeats his subtle denial - Malaysians abroad are known to be members of 14K. But he adds another twist to the mystery.Hinting that the police’s findings were correct, he says that people can interpret his remarks in whatever manner they want but he will continue to remain silent.
Scene seven: Zahid makes comeback
He reportedly claims that his Dec 18, 2014 letter to the FBI was "to confirm" that 14K did not exist in Malaysia. Left unsaid is his implication that, therefore, Phua cannot be a member of the criminal organisation.
According to him, the letter was requested by the legal firm Chesnoff & Schonfeld, which is representing Phua and his son.
Scene eight: Veteran actor ropes in ‘ostrich’ PM
Responding to Zahid, DAP grandmaster Lim Kit Siang says the minister "would have failed his (English) comprehension test in school if he really believed in what he said" in the letter.
Zahid's letter, he says, went further than ‘confirming’ that the 14K triad did not exist in the country.
According to him, Zahid had vouched for the character of Phua and as good as declared him a national asset.
He demands an explanation from the prime minister and at the same time wonders if he will resort to his normal routine of “burying his head in the sand” in times of crisis.
The climax
Stay glued to Malaysiakini as we bring you the latest developments concerning this saga.
As for some other posers which have cropped up from the above scenes, they are as follows:
-
Did Zahid really write the letter? If someone else wrote it, did the minister read before inking it?
-
Was Shafee correct about the police making a big mistake?
-
Who or which ministry ordered the letter to be retracted from the Las Vegas court?
-
Did Zahid breach diplomatic convention?
- And finally, will the PM resort to another ‘golf diplomacy’ to solve the problem?
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