Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar has once again issued a subtle denial to senior lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah's claim about his client, an alleged underworld figure.

 

While he refused to comment on Shafee's recent remarks, Khalid, however, appeared to defend the police findings concerning alleged Malaysian gambling kingpin Paul Phua.

 

"I can only reiterate that while 14K (a transnational crime organisation) does not exist here, there are Malaysians abroad who are known to be members of the triad.

 

"How people wish to interpret this statement (above) is up to them,” Khalid told Malaysiakini in a text message.

 

"But as I said before, I would not comment further because it would jeopardise the court proceedings in the United States."

 

Khalid was asked to respond to Shafee, who again on Wednesday suggested that the police were wrong to link his client to the 14K triad - said to be world’s second largest triad group - since 14K did not exist in Malaysia.

The alleged kingpin, with business interests abroad, and his son, Darren, are standing trial in the US for allegedly running an illegal gambling operation in Las Vegas in July last year.

 

To bolster their case, US authorities have accused Phua of being a member of the Hong Kong-based 14K triad, information they said was supplied by the Malaysian police.

 

In dismissing a Malaysiakini report on police sources claiming that their investigation report on Phua was not erroneous , Shafee said that he "stands by what the IGP had said".

 

This remark raised more questions, since the police chief has always maintained silence on the case.

 

Last Saturday, the Umno-linked lawyer said the police made a ‘very big’ mistake in linking Phua to the 14K triad, which explained the reason behind Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi penning a letter in defence of Phua to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

 

Shafee said the minister had wanted to set the record straight.

 

However, Zahid's letter was withdrawn from a Nevada District Court after Putrajaya objected to it being used for Phua's defence.

 

Sources had also told Malaysiakini that the minister did not consult the police before sending the letter to FBI.

 

The opposition has demanded answers on this matter from Zahid and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

 

PKR has also accused Zahid of breaching diplomatic convention in bypassing the Foreign Ministry to issue the letter.

 

The party plans to file a police report against the minister and Shafee.

 

'Zahid would have failed English test'

 

Meanwhile, Zahid reportedly claimed that his Dec 18, 2014 letter to the FBI was "to confirm" that 14K did not exist in Malaysia and Phua is not a member of the criminal organisation.

 

According to him, the letter was requested by the legal firm Chesnoff & Schonfeld, which is representing Phua and his son.

 

Commenting on this, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang fired a sarcastic salvo at Zahid.

 

He remarked that the minister "would have failed his (English) comprehension test in school if he really believed in what he said" in the letter.

                                                           

"In the first place, Zahid's letter was not just to 'confirm' that the 14K triad did not exist in the country.

 

"He clearly vouched for the character of Phua and as good as declared Phua a 'national asset' when he pleaded for his release when he wrote Phua had helped the Malaysian government on 'projects affecting national security' and 'we continue to call upon him to assist us from time to time and as such, are eager for him to return'.

 

"Zahid had mortgaged the reputation of Malaysia and undermined our national sovereignty in writing such a plea to the FBI, for any such letter should have been written by the police and not by the home minister - assuming that the facts Zahid referred to were true - via the Foreign Ministry," Lim said.

 

Lim also asked if Zahid was pleading that he did not really understand the importance of his "infamous" letter to the FBI.

 

"And if so, who was the real author of his letter?" he questioned.

 

Training his guns on Najib, the DAP parliamentary leader wondered how the prime minister would deal with this scandal.

 

"Or would he just do what he is now very good at, just bury his head in the sand?" Lim asked.

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