Twelve days had gone by before Malaysia’s Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi finally commented on his sensational letter to the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). He wrote the letter allegedly to try to get the agency to release Paul Phua pronto and return him post-haste to Malaysia.

He’s certainly taken a long time to respond to the persistent, strident clamour for an explanation. And we don’t wonder. How do you explain away your indefensible action, when you are only adept at connecting your knuckles with someone else’s gob in public space and executing similar gangsta-type acts such as threatening and insulting others rather than exhibiting intellectual prowess?

When Ahmad Zahid Hamidi did try to explain away his shocking letter, all we heard was a bare denial and the mention of the skirt behind which those in government usually take refuge when they are unable to explain their obviously dubious actions - the Official Secrets Act .

The clarification needed

Zahid denied that he was defending Paul Phua by writing that letter. Let's see if what he has said is true.

When news about the letter broke out on Jan 3 this year, the Umno Baru-linked lawyer Shafee Abdullah was reported to have said that the US law firm acting for Phua, Messrs Chesnoff & Schonfeld, had sought his help to clarify Phua’s background.

He added that he then “... wrote (to Zahid) some time in August to give the full name (of Phua) and subject and I said, can you please clarify if Paul Phua is a member of the 14K Triad in Malaysia. Interestingly, the minister answered almost two months [sic] later - he didn’t answer immediately because he had to find out from the police - he said Paul Phua is not a member of the 14K Triad.”

Let us tackle the easiest thing first. Shafee said he wrote to Zahid in August and the latter responded two months later. Two months after August would be October, but Zahid’s letter was written in December. We ask, what and how many other things has Shafee got wrong?

Now, the information of interest to Phua’s American lawyers is obviously whether Phua was a member of the 14K Triad in Malaysia. Since Shafee has asked Zahid to clarify that, all the latter needed to do was to state whether Phua was.

And what did Zahid write?

The third paragraph of Zahid's letter reads thus - Upon written requests by his Malaysian and American legal teams, they have asked me to write to you directly as they have been made to understand that your department may be looking into Mr Phua's plausible [sic] involvement with the Chinese transnational organized crime organization named ‘14K Triad’ in Malaysia. 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 associated with the ‘14K Triad’.

So, according to Zahid, Phua was not a member of, nor was he associated with, the 14K Triad. He has not stated that the 14K Triad has not or did not operate in Malaysia. We are clear about that, right - he has not stated that the 14K Triad has not or did not operate in Malaysia.

Now, since we have learned from the Malaysian police report relayed to the FBI sometime before 17 July, 2008 that there were two other Malaysians who were involved with the criminal organisation and that the said organisation was operating in Malaysia, and that Zahid has not stated whether it (the said organisation) has ceased to operate in Malaysia, we may, if we want to, conclude that it still exists and is operating in Malaysia.

Besides, there were other Malaysians who have been involved and who might still be.

Zahid has indeed defended Phua

Contrary to Zahid’s claim that he has not defended Phua, he, in fact, has. This is clearer than crystal in the fourth paragraph of his letter which reads thus - Moreover, according to our records, Mr Phua has, on numerous occassions, [sic] 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.

This information is also extraneous. It is also incriminating (for Zahid). At the expense of repeating ourselves, the only information needed to be divulged was whether Phua was involved with the 14K Triad in Malaysia. Although Zahid wrote to the FBI, there is such a thing called need-to-know.

For the benefit of the uninitiated, let us inform that two intelligence bodies both working for the same country/entity or are doing the same thing may share only information that the other ‘needs to know’.

For example, the Malaysian police Special Branch may share only a piece of information with the Malaysian armed forces Military Intelligence if the latter need to know it and vice versa. Any intelligence body in Malaysia may share a piece of information with the FBI (or other intelligence bodies of friendly countries) only when the latter need to know it and vice versa. Surely, being a former defence minister and now home minister, Zahid must be aware of this.

The very fact that Zahid has apprised the FBI of Phua’s covert role - if indeed Phua has been playing such a role - and that the latter (the FBI) did not need to know about it renders him (Zahid) guilty of divulging what should be a top state secret.

Whether Zahid has defended Phua and sought the latter’s prompt release and speedy repatriation to Malaysia in Malaysia’s interest or his own is best left to conjecture.

Malaysian government consorting with criminals

What we learn today is not at all flattering to Malaysia. Indeed, it has portrayed Malaysia in a light so dim as to relegating the country to the level of banana republics and fourth-world countries. Not that we are saying Malaysia isn't there. And what is it? Previous home ministers of Malaysia have also issued letters in defence of alleged criminals held by the authorities in other countries and requested their immediate release and return.

Conclusion

With the Malaysian government leaders’ propensity for covering up dubious activities by quoting the Official Secrets Act, this Zahidgate imbroglio will never be made plain and resolved. For that to happen, a Malaysian pair of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein needs to appear and get into action. Are there any out there?