Did AG deliberately lose Batu Puteh? Who bribed him? HOT QUESTIONS but Zahid says NO PROBE

KUALA LUMPUR - Despite rising unease over the startling claims made by a former senior police officer that Malaysia's Attorney General Gani Patail had been bribed to deliberately lose the Pulau Batu Puteh islet to Singapore, Home Minister Zahid Hamidi is sticking to his guns not to open an investigation into the allegations that also involve his boss - Prime Minister Najib Razak.

According to Zahid, a 31-page statutory declaration made by former city CID chief Mat Zain Ibrahim was not enough reason for the police to launch a probe even though a copy of Mat's statement had been sent to Najib on October 9, some 10 days before his Umno party's internal election.

However, Zahid acknowledged that if a police report was made, then they may take action.

Mat Zain had also called for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Pulau Batu Puteh trial, where the ownership of the rocky islet had been decided by the International Court of Justice in 2007.

Gani, who led the Malaysian legal team, had lost the case, prompting an outcry back home that tarnished the record of then prime minister Abdullah Badawi, who was blamed for losing Malaysian soil to another country.

Conspiracy theories

There are several conspiracy theories surrounding the reasons for why Mat Zain had suddenly made his claims. So far, the Malaysian media has accepted Mat Zain's revelations as being credible given his access to sensitive information while still with the police force.

And if not, given his senior ranking and the seriousness of his allegations, many believe that the authorities should immediately respond by opening a probe into the matter.

Indeed, there are some who believe Gani was 'bought' by the Singapore authorities.

But the more favored theory is that Gani was paid by people close to Najib, who wanted to hammer in the last nail into Badawi's political coffin so that Najib - who was then the deputy prime minister - could replace him.

Opposition politicians have also called on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate Mat Zain's complex statement. The former CID chief had also accused Najib of keeping the contents of his statutory declaration secret from his Umno party.

"And by concealing the content of the SD, Najib could be said to have deprived the members of their rights in choosing the right candidates in the party polls," Mat Zain was reported as saying.

"The Registrar of Societies must show that it has a backbone and is able to take action against any political party which has violated the laws or party constitution."

Umno polls affected as information was hidden

Mat Zain also sprayed fire at Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman, whose brother is Foreign Affairs Minister Anifah Aman.

“There were Umno supreme council candidates who are known to have been protected by Abdul Gani when allegations of wrongdoings were raised against them. There is a strong possibility that Umno members would not have voted in these candidates," Mat Zain.

"Umno supreme council candidates, especially those from Sabah, would not have fared well either as Abdul Gani is from Sabah and has family ties with Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.

"Musa himself has been accused of being protected by Abdul Gani on several occasions when he was accused of corruption and abuse of power. I believe that if Najib had told the assembly about my SD, the outcome of the polls would have been very different." - Malaysia Chronicle