Come clean on gambling kingpin, lawyers tell home minister

Eric Paulsen leads the Lawyers for Liberty NGO in fighting for justice and transparency in government in Malaysia. – The Malaysian Insider pic, January 6, 2015.A lawyers' group has heaped more pressure on Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, urging him to explain his relationship with gambling kingpin Paul Phua Wei Seng which led to the minister writing to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).Lawyers for Liberty executive director Eric Paulsen said Zahid could no longer remain silent and allow the public to speculate on Zahid's role in this matter.

"Silence is no longer an option for Zahid, especially after Putrajaya withdrew the letter which was being used to defend Phua," Paulsen told The Malaysian Insider."It looks like someone in higher authority and more influential than Zahid had ordered the letter to be withdrawn."Paulsen added it now appears that Zahid had abused his position to help a "friend" because the letter to the FBI was abnormal.
 
"The content of the letter was incredible and its withdrawal has cast grave suspicion on the veracity of the document," he said of the letter by Zahid to FBI deputy director Mark F.Giuliano, which was also criticised by DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng today for its poor use of English.Opposition leaders have also urged Zahid to come clean on this matter, questioning his links to Phua.Phua, 50, a former casino junket operator in Macau, and his son, are facing charges of illegal bookmaking in Las Vegas, after being arrested by police at the Caesars Palace hotel during the FIFA World Cup football tournament in July last year.Phua is also said to be associated with the 14K Triad.An online message found on Phua's computer during a police raid suggested that the alleged operation had taken bets amounting to HK$2.7 billion (RM1.22 billion), according to court documents.In the December 18 letter, Zahid had written: "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."The South China Morning Post, in a report on December 31, broke the news about the contentious letter.It was reported yesterday that Zahid's letter to the FBI was withdrawn from a Nevada District Court after Putrajaya objected to it being used in support of the defence of the accused gambling kingpin.Umno lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who is Phua's lawyer in Malaysia, had also explained that Zahid did not vouch for Phua as his letter was merely a response given to Phua's lawyer in the US. – January 6, 2015.