COMMENT What an unmitigated disaster. An attempt at damage control has caused even more damage instead.

A week ago, most Malaysians were unaware about the existence of alleged gambling kingpin Paul Phua or the transnational criminal outfit 14K.

But now the two are household names, thanks to Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

It has since turned into a high stakes game for the home minister and Umno-linked legal eagle - both of whom are credited for giving the Najib administration its first scandal of 2015.

Since then, similar to a thriller, there have been numerous twists and turns, which have left the audience with plenty of questions, chief of them - who is attempting to murder the truth?