Has Zahid been caught telling a lie, asks DAP

Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s letter to the FBI in support of gambling kingpin Paul Phua has landed him in hot water, with an opposition lawmaker asking if the latter’s predecessors had written such letters. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, January 20, 2015.

A veteran DAP lawmaker is wondering if Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had lied when saying that his predecessors had written letters, similar to the ones he sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).

Gelang Patah MP Lim Kit Siang, in a statement today, asked if Zahid had been caught red-handed telling a “lie”, after former home minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, who is now the defence minister, said he had never sent any letter to the FBI.

Hishammuddin's statement appeared to have contradicted Zahid's claim last week when he implicated his predecessors of doing the same.

Zahid had come under fire for writing the letter to the FBI in support of gambling kingpin Paul Phua Wei Seng, who is currently facing bookmaking charges in the United States.

"Has Zahid Hamidi been caught red-handed telling another lie?" Lim said in a statement from Sibu, Sarawak, today.

Lim had earlier asked former home ministers, particularly Zahid's immediate predecessor Hishammuddin, and others such as Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar, Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad and Datuk Azmi Khalid to “speak up and put the record straight” whether they had written clarification letters to FBI like Zahid.

"Hishammuddin has denied. What about the others – Hamid Albar, Mohd Radzi, Azmi Khalid? Probably, we should go further back and rope in Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who were previously home ministers, too?

"To be frank, I never believed that previous home ministers had behaved like Zahid, writing unilaterally to the FBI, without the knowledge of the police or the inspector-general of police, as well as without the knowledge or clearance from the Foreign Affairs Ministry.”

The DAP opposition parliamentary leader also accused Zahid of fudging the truth about the Cabinet accepting his explanation on the letter.

Lim said Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman previously said that the Cabinet only “heard” Zahid's explanation, and not “accepted” it.

"Be that as it may, national interests demand that the whole truth about Zahid’s letter to the FBI on the alleged gambling kingpin must be fully revealed, or he should expect to be impaled on the issue in the next Parliament session.”

In the December 18 letter, Zahid said he had been asked by Phua's Malaysian and American legal teams to write to the FBI over the bureau's suspicion into Phua's plausible involvement with the Chinese transnational organised crime organisation "14K" in Malaysia.

Phua, 50, a former casino owner in Macau, and his son, face charges of illegal bookmaking in Las Vegas after being arrested by police at the Caesars Palace hotel during the FIFA World Cup in July last year.

An online message found on Phua's computer during a police raid suggested that bets of the alleged operation reached a "grand total" of HK$2.7 billion (RM1.22 billion), according to court documents.

"As such to assist both your department and Mr Phua's legal teams, based on our information, Mr Phua is neither a member nor is he associates with the '14K' triad.

"Moreover, according to our records, Mr Phua has, numerous occasions, assisted the Government of Malaysia on projects affecting our national security and accordingly we continue to call upon him to assist us from time to time and as such we are eager for him to return to Malaysia," Zahid said in the letter.

The letter to FBI deputy director Mark F. Giuliano, which was exposed by South China Morning Post in a report on December 31, quickly raised questions why Zahid was backing Phua and the extent of their relationship.

Breaking his silence on the matter last Thursday, Zahid told the media that as home minister, he had the authority to write to the FBI. However, he did not offer further details.

He also said he could not reveal details of the national security projects Phua had aided the government because the information was protected under the Official Secrets Act.

- TMI