Mat Zain: Did KJ know about 'doctored' photo?

Expanding his net over the submission of an allegedly ‘doctored’ photograph of Batu Puteh, former top police officer Mat Zain Ibrahim wants to know why Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has remained quiet on the matter. 

In a statement, Mat Zain said that if Khairy could challenge Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail on why he is not appealing the ruling in the Port Klang Free Zone case, then he should also “have the guts” to ask Gani about the Batu Puteh case. 

Similarly, he said, Khairy should question those in cabinet, especially Johoreans like Muhyiddin Yassin, Khaled Nordin, Hishammuddin Hussein and Azalina Othman, on what actions they had taken, to defend Batu Puteh against Singapore’s claim, from 2004 to 2007. 

Mat Zain said Khairy's silence on Batu Puteh was pertinent as he was a  key member of the ‘fourth floor’ - a coterie of powerful young aides to the prime minister - in 2007, when the case was taken to the International Court of Justice. 

He said that as “numero uno of the fourth floor”, Khairy - popularly known as KJ - “should have realised” the implications of the submission of this photograph four days before the oral presentation in the court proceedings. 

Mat Zain said this had not only brought “shame and disrepute to our King and nation”, but also to the legal team that is now on record in international legal history as having introduced a “concocted” photograph into evidence.  

The Singapore legal team that won the dispute, he said, has since conducted several fora where they have honed in on the fact that Malaysia submitted fake evidence. 
 
“(Is) the loss of... Batu Puteh to Singapore not of public interest? Whereas this case is about our sovereignty and our pride,” noted Mat Zain. 

“Surely KJ will not overlook such a big issue to be capitalised. Or to KJ, (is) the Batu Puteh scandal is less important than the Port Klang Free Zone? Or is it because the scandalous event happened during (his) father-in law Abdullah (Ahmad Badawi)’s (time as prime minister)?”  

Malaysiakini has reported that Mat Zain submitted a copy of his statutory declaration to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Among others, his statutory declarationalleges that Gani (left) and his team had used a “concocted” photograph, lifted off an anonymous blog, in Malaysia's case before the International Court of Justice case.

Mat Zain said this was disputed by the Singapore legal team, and Malaysia was caught “red-handed”, thus undermining its case and resulting in the loss of Batu Puteh, which Singapore calls Pedra Branca. 

Mat Zain he had received this information through a meeting involving former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and senior lawyer Muhamad Shafee Abdullah. 

When contacted on this meeting with Mat Zain, Shafee and Mahathir, Gani told Malaysiakini: "Publish it at your own risk."