IGP: Cops to question Mat Zain on Shafee report soon
(MM) – The police are expected to haul up former senior police officer Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim for questioning today over his report accusing Umno lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah of lying in an affidavit.
Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar told a press conference in Cheras this afternoon that the former KL CID chief could be called in as early as today, according to a report by news portal Malaysiakini.
“We… will see what the (alleged) offences (are) that are revealed in his statement,” Khalid was quoted as saying.
The news portal said this was over Mat Zain’s police report yesterday against Shafee, who the former said had filed a false affidavit-in-reply to the government’s appeal against the sodomy acquittal of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahimm
In response, Mat Zain reportedly told Malaysiakini in a text message that he would offer his fullest cooperation to the police.
“Okay, good. This is the kind of quick action that should be taken. My thanks to the police.
“I am ready to give my fullest cooperation. I have nothing to hide. I am very pleased with their speedy response…” he was quoted as saying.
In his December 11 affidavit, Shafee had sought to distance himself from Mat Zain’s allegations of misconduct against the Attorney-General in Malaysia’s loss of Pulau Batu Puteh and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s 1998 “black eye” incident.
In the document, the prominent Umno lawyer rejected remarks attributed to him in Mat Zain’s statutory declaration (SD).
“I vehemently deny that I have been involved in any particular ‘meeting’ whatsoever and have commented on any alleged misconduct concerning the current Attorney-General TSGP, in particular, over the Batu Puteh controversy,” said Shafee, using Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail’s initials.
“I have never insinuated nor mentioned about funds in Hong Kong and such like.”
Shafee also said that Anwar’s second attempt to disqualify him from leading the prosecution appeal against the verdict in the opposition leader’s second sodomy trial was based on frivolous and vexatious grounds.
Anwar had said in recent a statement that the grounds for his application was based on the revelations made by Mat Zain in the latter’s statutory declaration (SD) signed on October 7 and publicly revealed on December 2.
Citing Mat Zain’s latest SD, Anwar had noted that the former senior police officer alleged that Shafee knew of Abdul Gani allegedly suppressing important evidence in the Pulau Batu Puteh hearing at the International Court of Justive (ICJ) in 2007 that caused Malaysia to lose the island to Singapore.
“Shafee told Mat Zain that ‘you will not believe your eyes if you were to see the amount of cash that was transferred into Gani’s account in Hong Kong’,” Anwar had written in the statement, citing the SD.
Mat Zain was also the investigating officer in the case on Anwar’s “black eye” assault in 1998, in which the PKR de facto leader was assaulted by then Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Noor while in custody.
Mat Zain has been lobbying for the case to be re-opened in a series of open letters penned to Bukit Aman and the government, insisting that Gani was complicit in the alleged fabrication of evidence in the case.
“Shafee agreed with Mat Zain that Gani had fabricated evidence against myself during the “black eye” investigation.
“Shafee agreed it was indeed true that Dr Abdul Rahman bin Yusof, a forensic consultant at Kuala Lumpur Hospital had fabricated evidence in my ‘black eye’ investigation,” Anwar said in his statement.
Shafee later expanded on his denial and said only Mat Zain could speak to the contents of his declaration.
“Mat Zain was the dominant person who was doing the talking on the ‘black eye’ matter. I suspect this was due to the fact that Mat Zain was introduced to Tun Dr Mahathir (Mohamad) as the investigator of the ‘black eye’ incident,” said Shafee, referring to a recent gathering at the former prime minister’s house.
“I was never a witness to the ‘black eye’ incident, nor to any fabrication about it and I therefore cannot give any firsthand information or opinion on that issues; only Mat Zain can,” he added.
