Zahid on Da Ma Cai trips: Can't remember, but must be probed

Former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who was also then the home affairs minister, said he would have to check first to verify whether the gaming company Da Ma Cai had sponsored study trips for the police during his watch over the Ministry of Home Affairs.

If such sponsorships had occurred, Zahid said, the present government should investigate them.

“I would have to check the records, I don’t remember everything.

“If there is truth to the matter, I think the present government should investigate. This is because we have never compromised with gambling because gambling is haram (forbidden) in Islam,” Zahid told reporters when met in Semenyih last night.

Inspector-general of police Mohamad Fuzi Harun and 16 other senior police officers have been reported to have gone on a trip to Turkey, which caused controversy regarding the amount of money supposedly spent on lavish accommodations.

According to a report by Sarawak Report, some RM312,441 may have been spent on business class flights and five-star accommodations.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has since clarified that the trip was not paid for by the government, but was instead funded by Da Ma Cai with approval from the Malaysia Totalisator Board – a statutory body under his ministry’s purview.

According to Lim, the board, which oversees the horse racing industry, had sponsoredsuch trips in June 2012, June 2013, and May 2014. Zahid was home affairs minister from May 2013 until May last year.

Zahid’s immediate predecessor, Hishammuddin Hussein, has said he was not aware of the sponsorships.

“If it is indeed true (that the trip was funded with gambling proceeds), then it is not right because the person who funded the trip has an interest,” Hishammuddin said.

Current Home Affairs Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the purpose of the latest trip was to study methods of tackling online gambling.

Muhyiddin also said there was no need to review the standard operating procedures for such sponsorships as there is no conflict of interest. - Mkini