Home Minister Dato Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi must produce evidence of the “stacks of letters” he allegedly has in his possession which show that previous Home Ministers had also penned letters to the US similar to that which he wrote in respect of Paul Phua.
Zahid has claimed to have stacks of letters and agreements signed by his predecessors and the US to that effect.
He must however realize there is a world of difference between ordinary letters written to foreign countries as opposed to that which have similar contents and circumstances surrounding that of the Paul Phua letter which he signed.
Needless to say, the Paul Phua letter is significant because it contains information of and concerning an individual who was at the material time involved in ongoing criminal investigations.
In addition to that, the letter adverts, inter alia, to matters of national security and there is no evidence as yet of any consultation nor reference to the police, attorney-general or cabinet before it was signed by Zahid.
There have also been concerns raised over the possible revelation of matters likely protected under the Official Secrets Act without first being declassified, in the said letter.
Zahid says he will suffer “embarrassment” and not implicate others.
With due respect, I do not think this is a private matter which affords Zahid the option of silence. This is a matter of public and national importance which impacts directly not only upon the credibility of the Home Ministry but also that of Zahid and his predecessors.
As Minister, Zahid is duty bound to set the record straight and personally, he must also speak up in order to clear his name. That to my mind, would be the right thing to do.
As Member of Parliament, I therefore challenge Zahid to produce letters written by his predecessors which are similar to that of which he wrote to the FBI about Paul Phua be it publicly or in Parliament.
If there are such similar letters and they were in fact written by any one or more of his predecessors who have denied ever writing such letters, then they must explain.
That would be a very serious matter demanding even action against them if necessary.
On the contrary, if no such similar letters exist, then Zahid cannot remain as head of the Ministry of Home Affairs. He must in those circumstances be prepared to step down as Minister of Home Affairs.