Malaysiakini | Sep 19, 11

A former CID director has argued that the federal government has “confirmed” that Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail tampered with evidence in the 1998 ‘black eye’ incident involving Anwar Ibrahim.

Mat Zain Ibrahim, in an open letter to Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar, referred to a review of the incident by a three-member panel.

He noted that one panel-member had established a prima facie case against Gani (right). And by defending the panel’s legitimacy and authority through a ministerial statement to Parliament last December, he argued, Putrajaya had validated the minority finding.

“The main issue is whether Gani had falsified evidence in the investigation involving Anwar or not. It is clear that, in this case, the government had confirmed that the falsifying of evidence did take place.

“In short, whether by design or through technical grounds, the government has affirmed Gani as a criminal,” alleged Mat Zain in the lengthy letter also sent to selected news orgasations.

In July 2008, Anwar faced allegations of sodomising his then aide Mohd Saiful Bukhary Azlan, and responded by lodging a police report against Gani, then police chief Musa Hassan, Mat Zain and one Dr Abdul Rahman Yusof.

Anwar accused the four of tampering with evidence used in the investigations into the ‘black eye’ incident. This was part of his efforts to show that there was a high-level conspiracy against him and that Gani and Musa could not therefore be party to the probe into the fresh sodomy charge.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigated the matter and formed an independent panel comprising former top judges Kadir Sulaiman, Wira Mohd Nor and Ahmad Nor Abdullah to probe the allegation.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz told Parliament in March 2009 that the panel had cleared both Gani and Musa of wrongdoing, but there was no mention of Mat Zain and Abdul Rahman.

Nazri said one of the three panel-members had indeed found a case against Gani, but that the panel’s decision was based on the majority view.

‘Review Musa’s role’

Mat Zain said Musa’s alleged role in briefing then premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad on allegations of Anwar’s sexual misconduct must also be examined in light of a recent judgment that has raised questions about Musa’s credibility.

Mat Zain noted that Mahathir wrote in his memoirs that he had been briefed about Anwar’s alleged misconduct by IGP Hanief Omar in 1993, but took the matter lightly until a subsequent briefing by new IGP Abdul Rahim Noor and Musa, then the investigating officer.

“This time, they had evidence, including pictures and confessions of the people involved,” wrote Mahathir.

But Mat Zain argued that Sessions Court Judge Supang Lian had in a 2009 judgment ruled Musa (right) to be “unreliable and to be disregarded” as a witness in the MACC’s legal proceedings against former Commercial Crimes Investigation Department chief Ramli Yusoff.

In view of this, Mat Zain said Musa’s role in the 1997 briefing to Mahathir is now questionable and must be reviewed.

“If a Sessions Court judge can record that Musa cannot be trusted in the notes of proceeding, at a time when he was still the IGP, it is not wrong to question whether he was lying or not when he briefed Mahathir on Anwar,” said Mat Zain.

Musa recently denied Mat Zain’s claims and instead accused the latter of being in cahoots with Anwar.