Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has finally broken his silence on a letter he penned for the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) on alleged Malaysian gambling kingpin Paul Puah.
 
However, there are several major questions which remain unanswered.
 
Almost two weeks had passed since the controversy erupted, with various quarters offering numerous twists and turns while Zahid kept himself below the media radar.
 
In his response yesterday, the home minister denied that he had penned the letter in support of Phua but had merely clarified the 14K triad matter.
 
In a press conference, he highlighted and reiterated two points in his letter:
 
1. That 14K triad does not exist in Malaysia.
 
2. That Phua is not a member of 14K triad in Malaysia.
 
These two are directly related - since there is no 14K triad in Malaysia, therefore Phua cannot be a member of 14K triad in this country.
 
As for the letter stating that Phua had assisted in national security matters, Zahid said he cannot reveal the details as it fell under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

Five questions
 
Some fundamental questions which remain are:
 
1. Why Zahid failed to consult the police before sending the letter?
 
2. Why did he not first brief the cabinet before sending the letter?
 
3. If Phua did not assist the police, which agency required his help on security matters?
 
4. Why did Zahid take two weeks to respond to such an important issue?
 
5. Is Phua still helping us, since Zahid said Malaysia is “eager for his return”.
 
Meanwhile, PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil accused Zahid of hiding behind technicalities instead of answering the pertinent questions.
 
"The answers are pretty disappointing and are merely hiding behind grammatical and technical excuses," he said.
 
He also said Zahid is taking refuge behind the OSA, and vowed that PKR would continue to push for more answers in the issue.