BBC Now Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein is the head of Malaysia's notorious triad ?

If the recent revelations of an experienced police officer is telling enough you have not heard enough.

As part of the BBC's Who Runs Your World? series, Jonathan Kent in Kuala Lumpur looks at how Malaysia's notorious triad gangs are run.

(By now Ah Hing would already be a tai koh, if still surviving)

Ah Hing makes no bones about his world and his life. "I admit that I am a bad guy, and that I'm a gangster," he said.

"So who runs your world?" I asked - to which he gave a simple reply : "The government".

Retired Federal Police  Chief Musa Hassan is lying outright in denying that he had contacts with shady underworld kingpins Goh Cheng Poh, or Tengku Goh, and BK Tan when he was Inspector-General of Police.

So says former Commercial Crime Investigations Department Director Ramli Yusuff (left), who added that evidence gathered by his CCID team, an unchallenged statutory declaration and court testimonies prove otherwise.

Furthermore, in Ramli’s abuse of power trial in the sessions court in Kota Kinabalu, Musa had been found to be an unreliable witness when testifying against Ramli.

“Musa was the last witness to testify in my abuse of power trial. He was found by Sessions (Court) Judge Supang Lian to have contradicted the testimonies of seven police officers under him. Hence, the Judge dismissed Musa’s testimony as unreliable,” Ramli added.

“Here, we have a junior judge passing such a remark on the then serving IGP. This is a disgrace to the Police Force,” he told Malaysiakini in an interview.

The judge made the remark in 2009 when acquitting and discharging Ramli without calling for his defence. Ramli, who has since been cleared on all five charges he insists were trumped-up, spoke to Malaysiakini when asked to comment on Musa’s interview with the news portal in May this year, in which the former Police Chief denied knowing underworld kingpins Tengku Goh and BK Tan.

Tengku Goh is reportedly an underworld boss who enjoyed Musa’s backing when Musa (right with A-G Gani Patail) was Johor Police Chief. Musa was said to have eliminated all loan sharks, money-laundering syndicates, gaming and drug syndicates and crime lords in Johor, but allowed Tengku Goh to continue operating – until the Bukit Aman CCID found out about Goh’s activities.

As a result of this discovery, called the Copgate affair, Ramli and his men were instead hit with trumped-up charges by Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, who was accused of colluding with the then Police Chief.

Ramli was eventually cleared without his defence being called and appeals by the AG against the decision were thrown out by the upper courts. Meanwhile, Ramli’s men who were similarly charged were also acquitted without their defence called. The prosecution, however, did not appeal their acquittals.

Some of these Police officers, who were driving taxis to make ends meet following their suspension from the force, have now been reinstated and promoted.

What the CCID team uncovered…

In the Malaysiakini interview, Ramli also denied that his CCID team encroached into Criminal Investigation Department’s (CID’s) jurisdiction as alleged by Musa.

Acting on information received, Ramli said he and his team recorded intelligence statements from underworld whistleblowers, who detailed the illegal activities committed by Tengku Goh and his involvement with Musa.

“The Police submitted this information to Deputy Internal Security Minister Johari Baharom, who directed us to continue with the investigations as the government wanted to curb all illegal activities such as money laundering, illegal gaming, loan shark or illegal money-lending activities, drug smuggling and gangsterism.

“When we have information, we investigate. How can we stop investigations (when we come across any illegal activity involving syndicate members in the course of our investigation)?

“We are police officers and we are supposed to investigate, regardless of whether the matter comes under the purview of the CID, Anti-Narcotics Department, Internal Security Department or any other department in the police force.

“Our powers are the same, as enshrined under Section 3 of the Police Act 1967 and other relevant laws,” Ramli added.

In the bizarre Copgate affair, Deputy Minister Johari (right) was himself accused of having links with the mob for releasing three gangsters held under the recently repealed Emergency Ordinance, which allowed for detention without trial.

It is believed that Johori ordered Ramli to probe Musa in a tit-for-tat battle between the DeputyMinister and the IGP.

Both men – the politician and the Police Chief – were subsequently cleared of mob involvement by the anti-corruption agency after the scandal broke in 2007.

Ramli said he later got to know that the current Deputy IGP, Khalid Abu Bakar (left), who was then Deputy Director of CID, had investigated Tengku Goh a few months before his men were asked to begin their investigation.

However, Ramli said, he was informed that Khalid’s investigation was stopped by Musa, who claimed that the allegation against Goh was baseless and that some police officers were trying to fix him up.

“Apparently Musa interfered, resulting in the transfer of some of the officers involved in the investigation. Khalid himself was removed as Deputy Director of the CID and appointed Selangor Police hief,” he said.

“How can Musa have the guts to say he does not know Tengku Goh when the fact is that Tengku Goh named him in his affidavit to secure his release as a restricted resident under the Restricted Residence Act?”

Furthermore, Ramli said, he and his team received information that when Musa was Johor Police Chief, he acted against all crime syndicate members, except Tengku Goh.

“You can ask any Police officer in Johor… they will know who Tengku Goh is.”

Ramli accused Musa of blatantly lying when saying that he did not know Tengku Goh.

“He was not telling the truth. How could Musa claim that this particular person was fixed when we recorded statements from sources (whistleblowers) saying otherwise? There is also evidence provided in court to prove this,” he said.

Musa’s son worked with BK Tan

Ramli also questioned how Musa could deny not knowing BK Tan, another shady character who had worked behind the scenes with key personnel in the Police Force on the transfer of certain Police officers.

He cited the sworn statement of a Police officer, ASP Mior Fahmi Ahmad, which said he saw Musa’s son working with BK Tan at his office in Amcorp Mall, Petaling Jaya, at which former Police Commissioner Othman Talib was also present.

Mior Fahmi, who was transferred from Sabah, was brought to Amcorp Mall by another senior Police officer to meet BK Tan. He was later sent to Johor to take charge of the D7 unit, which handles gaming, vice and secret societies.

“He (Mior Fahmi) was given a house to stay, free of charge, by the syndicate.We also have a statutory declaration from Musa’s former aide-de-camp ASP Nor Azizul Rahim, who disclosed that they discussed the transfer of D7 officers at Musa’s home, together with BK Tan and ex-Police Commissioner Othman.

“Musa was given a list of officers by BK Tan to be issued with transfer orders. These were officers who were on BK Tan’s payroll.

“Moreover, Musa was found to be an unreliable witness by the sessions court in the case against me, and this finding was also affirmed by the High Court in Kota Kinabalu and by the Court of Appeal. So, who are we to believe?” Ramli said.

He said the allegations made against Musa were damaging and based on the statutory declarations as well, Musa’s claim that he does not know BK Tan and Tengku Goh made no sense at all.

Mat Zain, former senior police officer, states there is no other body that is qualified to adjudicate on the present attorney-general than a tribunal.

He said Najib had last March rejected the calls for a tribunal although many credible exposures had been made over Gani’s misconduct in the public domain.

“I placed my trust on the PM to reconsider that stand. If Najib was willing to have an RCI to investigate the influx of illegal immigrants into Sabah, then he should consider the wishes of the people in the peninsula who had asked many times for a tribunal to be formed against Gani for the alleged misconduct,” he said.

Mat Zain Ibrahim, in his open letter sent to Najib two days ago, also revealed another possible misconduct by Gani with regard to documents relating to Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) investigations into the bank accounts of former Malacca chief minister Rahim Tamby Chik.

I always thought that nobody is invincible and untouchable except the Almighty! The question that invariably accompanies this would be: What “hold” has the AG on Jib? 

Musa’s former aide, ASP Noor Azizul Rahim, who is now attached to a Federal Ministry, was contacted by Malaysiakini to verify the contents of his Statutory Declaration. However, he declined to make any further comment on the issue, saying that he would nevertheless be willing to testify before a tribunal, should one be set up.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein rejected the need for an inquiry into the scandal.This is nothing but a re-run of a bad movie. If you add all the re-runs it feels like Musa has had his ass probed so many times he lost count. Who ordered his ass probed and who did the probing and when. comedians working on recycled materials hoping to earn some loose change from passersby. Haven’t we heard this before?

EX-MATTRESS CARRIER SPEAKS HIS MIND: THE NOOSE TIGHTENS

Former Police Chief Musa Hassan has described the move by his detractors and those making damning allegations about his links with the underworld as a concerted effort to tarnish his reputation.

Musa claimed that they went after him because he was the investigating officer in former Deputy Prime minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy I trial.

“There is a group of former Police officers who conspire together, and they are out to tarnish my reputation. This may be related to the Anwar (Sodomy I) case as I was the investigating officer.

“If my reputation is destroyed, Anwar can use that against me to claim that I framed him. I think this has some connection…”.

However, Musa, 60, stopped short of suggesting that the former Police officers making the allegations against him had ties with Anwar, only saying “maybe”.

Two retired senior Police officers, former Kuala Lumpur Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Chief Mat Zain Ibrahim and former Commercial Crime Investigations Department (CCID) Director Ramli Yusuf, have been vocal against Musa.

Both have called for a tribunal to be set up to investigate allegations of wrongdoing by Musa and Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail.

Asked whether he plans to file legal suits against those who made the allegations, Musa replied “no”.

The former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) was asked several times in an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini about his purported links with Johor-based Goh Cheng Poh or Tengku Goh, who was arrested by the CCID in 2007 and placed under restricted residence.

Musa, however, repeatedly denied any involvement with the alleged underworld kingpin.

‘I do not know Tengku Goh’(?)

The former Police Chief insisted that he did not know Tengku Goh, and said he heard of the allegation that Tengku Goh was involved in illegal horse racing, but there was no evidence to suggest this against the man.

“I do not know this Tengku Goh character and have not met him. I only know of his arrest for alleged gambling by CCID, and that he was exiled to Jeli. Gambling is not under CCID, but under D7 of the Criminal Investigation Department. Why was CCID or he (Ramli) involved?

“I got to know that the statements leading to Tengku Goh’s arrest were fabricated as they took statements from those who did not know him,” he added.

Musa also denied allegations made by Ramli that he, A-G Gani and the then Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) had conspired to fix the CCID chief and his officers.

Ramli, in his allegations dubbed as Copgate, said he was appointed by former Deputy Home Minister Johari Baharom in 2007 to jointly co-chair a task force to wipe out the loan shark menace in Johor, where Musa was once the state Police Chief.

Ramli (left) claimed that during the investigation his men found links between Tengku Goh and Musa, and in order to protect the then Police Chief, A-G Gani and the ACA used the information from the confidential investigation papers prepared by the CCID to turn over their whistleblowers.

As a result, six police officers serving under Ramli were subsequently suspended and charged in a sessions court for fabrication of evidence, but they were acquitted without their defence being called and later reinstated by IGP Tan Sri Ismail Omar.

A number of whistleblowers who implicated Musa on his links with Tengku Goh later made another statutory declaration that was also classified as ‘confidential’ in which they claimed they were “forced” to withdraw their accusations.

When it was pointed to Musa that there were allegations of criminal syndicates allegedly close to Tengku Goh using his name to avoid action by the police, the former IGP shot back that anyone who did that would be arrested.

“If they mention my name, I will direct action to be taken and arrest them,” he said.

The CCID investigation was apparently prompted by a 2007 poison-pen letter that was sent to then Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his cabinet members.

Musa, in the first part of his interview yesterday, claimed that his tough actions against leaders of the underworld in Johor and elsewhere involved in drug trafficking, human trafficking, gaming syndicates and money laundering, had caused him to suffer a backlash.

Asked about another allegation that his action was actually to reorganise the underworld under a single kingpin, Musa said he would be stupid to do this, since the criminal syndicates already had its own network.

“It is not easy to break the network… If I want money, I would do so from an old network and not form a new network. This is illogical… it is illogical for me to do that and control one person.Even if this is done, wouldn’t you think that others will not kill this person? After all, we are talking about gangsters here,” he said.

Who is BK Tan?

Musa was also asked to reply to allegations that he had involved another shadowy figure, BK Tan, in the promotions and transfers of certain police officers.

His retort was, “Who is this Tan?” and went on to add that there were 20 people carrying that initials.

Asked about allegations that this BK Tan had an office at Amcorp Mall in Petaling Jaya, Musa challenged the authorities to carry out an investigation.

“There was one BK Tan from Old Klang Road and I have had him arrested,” he said.

“Furthermore, those (Police officers) promoted were vetted by the prime minister and he also checked on their disciplinary record. Furthermore, they were also vetted by the Police Commission,” he said.

Asked about a claim that his former aide-de camp, Noor Azizul Rahim, had himself witnessed Musa and BK Tan discussing police promotions and he had made a statutory declaration about the matter, Musa retorted that as Police Chief he could consult anyone to find out more on the background of his officers.

“Are you telling me I cannot consult anyone? I want to get everybody’s views on how they view the OCPDs (officers-in-charge of police districts) so I can promote those who can work. Is this wrong?” he asked.

Asked again whether this included BK Tan, Musa flipped and demanded thatMalaysiakini produces this Tan.

Malaysiakini had earlier this year reported that Noor Azizul was willing to come forward should there be a tribunal to tell all about what he had alleged in his statutory declaration – that he saw Tan go to Musa’s Petaling Jaya home carrying a confidential folder containing the promotions and transfers of Police officers.

Ramli’s complaint made by Jeffrey Kitingan

Musa also revealed that the action taken against Ramli was from a report lodged by Jeffrey Pairin Kitingan who claimed that the former CCID director, once the Sabah Chief Police officer, had 200 acres land of in Sabah.

“The allegation was made by (former Sabah Chief Minister) Joseph Pairin’s brother, Jeffrey (right). This prompted the ACA investigations.

“I was also investigated by the ACA and I gave my bank account (during the height of the underworld links allegation) so that they could check and monitor,” he said.

“Hence, the allegation that I framed Ramli is incorrect as the complaint was made by Jeffrey. Are you telling me that we should not act on the report made?” Musa demanded.

Ramli, who had been implicated as the RM27 million cop, had been cleared of allegations of non-declaration of assets to the ACA and of abuse of power in using a Police Cessna aircraft over Sabah.

He was initially charged in a sessions court in Sabah and also in Kuala Lumpur. All the courts – from the sessions to the High Court and the Court of Appeal – upheld his acquittal without calling Ramli to make his defence.

There is still an appeal pending on one of Ramli’s summons cases in Kuala Lumpur, for which he was charged with not declaring to the authorities that he was in business as a director of a private firm. The sessions court, which heard the charge, acquitted him.

After dinner my grandmother would tell us stories. There was no electricity in the village, of course, and we would sit on the floor in a ring around the lantern with its sooty flame turned low to conserve costly oil. The flickering light cast our shadows on the wall and the old, wavering voice seemed to rise and fall with the flame. The stories she told were spun on the loom of  local legend. Threadbare tales they may seem now, but they held us spellbound with the night prowling the dark streets outside and the wind from the sea rattling the shutters. She told us of the times when she and the village were young; of the ghosts who had lived in the tangled branches of the banyan or in the echoing depths of old wells, of sailors lost in storms and the Arab traders who had come in their tall-masted boats wearing flowing white robes and daggers with jewelled hilts.

But our favourite tale was about Madhav the bandit chief, and we would coax and cajole her into telling it to us once again. Smiling indulgently she would start on the familiar story, the words of which never varied as though she were reading them from some secret page of her mind.

There were many bandits in the old lawless days: colourful marauders, fiercely moustached and heavily armed, who pillaged the countryside and were a menace to travellers. Some were cruel and spared no one, but others had been forced into outlawry by a twist of fate and were looked on as dark and dangerous heroes. Madhav was one of these, and his daring exploits had become sagas sung by balladeers. Riding his big, jet-black stallion and leading his band of men in the night, Madhav had become a fearful name to conjure with. But it was claimed that, despite his ferocity, he robbed only the rich, whom he was said to hate because the girl he had loved in his youth had been given in marriage to a wealthy man.

One day there was a wedding in the town of Bhagalpur to which almost the entire village went. It was the occasion of the year and the women decked themselves in all their finery and ornaments: My grandmother, who was 12 at the time and was herself to get married later that year, had on her mother’s gold bangles, necklace, nose-ring  and anklets. It was a memorable day of great festivity. On the way back,  however, it got very late. Worse, the bullock carts carrying the men left the party of women and girls far to the rear. Night fell and the anxious women tried to urge the driver of their leading cart to go faster. But he was old and full of bhang and as somnolent as his plodding oxen. Shivering in the cold of the desert night, the travellers huddled close for warmth and security. The vast night, haunted by the distant cries of jackals, seemed frighteningly open and vulnerable. Time creaked by with the agonising slowness of the carts’ wheels.

My grandmother said she must have dozed. Shouts and a rattle of hooves woke her to a nightmare of plunging shadows and masked, torchlit faces. She heard the old driver whisper in terror, “It’s Madhav.” The bandit rode up to the carts, the passengers too terrified to make a sound.

Describing him over 50 years later, my grandmother’s voice would be soft with awe. The grim, arrogant face; the grace and power of the broad-shouldered figure. His eyes flared when he saw the signs of a marriage party. “Take it all,” he snapped to his men. Frozen with fear, they watched the outlaws close in. Then, said my grandmother, she had an inspiration. She picked up a brass jug  which still had some buttermilk  in it and somehow found the courage to offer it to the leader. “You must be thirsty,” she said. His dark, gleaming eyes looked at her and he took the jug without a word. He drank and gave it back. “You are a brave girl,” he told my grandmother. “And that was good buttermilk.” He pulled his horse back. “I have accepted your salt and am in your debt. Go in peace. My men and I will follow to see no harm comes to you”. And as suddenly as they had materialised, the black-clad figures disappeared into the dark.

My grandmother would fall silent and stare at the low flame of the lantern. One day, with the  persistent curiosity of the very young, I asked her, “Madhav wasn’t real, was he?” She glanced up, but neither her look nor her smile was for me. “Of course not,” she said. “But he was the handsomest man you ever saw.”

EX-MATTRESS CARRIER’S ROLE IN SODOMY 1: SUCKING UP TO MAHATHIR

by Hafiz Yatim@www.malaysiakini.com

It is often said that blood is thicker than water, but according to former Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan, such philosophy does not apply when one is a Police officer.

Back in 1998, Musa was then the Deputy director of the Bukit Aman prosecution and legal department and investigation officer on the sodomy allegations against former  Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

It was then when Musa (right) claimed to have a brush with his younger politician brother Fuad Hassan, who had tried to persuade the former to side with Anwar.

The irony of all this, according to Musa, was that Anwar had used his powers as DPM to appoint him as the investigating officer.

“I do not know why he (Anwar) chose me of all the officers, but my younger brother and then politician, Fuad, met me saying I should help Anwar.

“I told Fuad off that as a Police officer I have to remain neutral. I warned Fuad that should he interfere or get involved in the investigations, I would arrest him although he is my brother,” he said.

Fuad was formerly Hulu Klang state legislative assemblyperson and was once actively involved with Muslim youth group ABIM, which Anwar once led. Fuad is now Director-General of the Special Affairs Department (Jasa).

Daily progress reports

Musa is the eldest of three siblings. The third is television celebrity Jalaluddin of the ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ fame.

Anwar’s decision to appoint Musa as the investigation officer was mentioned in then former Special Branch director Mohamad Said Awang’s testimony during the trial.

According to Musa, Anwar (far right in photo) had sought daily progress reports, but he could not oblige the DPM.

“Anwar also wanted me to report to him every night on the investigations. I told Anwar that I only report to the (then) IGP (Rahim Noor).

“Anwar replied that he was the complainant and I told him the allegation was against him and that if he was not guilty, it would be alright. But what if the incident really happened?” he narrated.

Although conviction against Anwar’s in the first sodomy trial had been overturned by the Federal Court, Musa is nevertheless sticking to the claim that the former Deputy Premier was guilty as charged.

Change of dates

Musa also said the hiccups involving the dates of the alleged sodomy act was not his doing.

Alleged sodomy victim Azizan Abu Bakar, Anwar’s family driver, had initially claimed it took place in Tivoli Villa in Bangsar at a time when the building was found not yet completed.

The prosecution later hastily changed the date of the alleged sodomy act, one of the many controversies involving the trial. Defending the integrity of his investigations, Musa said that decision to change the dates at the beginning of the trial was made solely by the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

“Azizan had lodged the report for some time… the investigation was complete, only he did not remember the exact date as it happened a long time ago… resulting in the prosecution failing to pinpoint the date.

“As to the changing of the date – that you have to ask the attorney-general’s side,” said Musa, who conceded that this had affected public perception on the trial.

At the time, the Attorney-General was Mokhtar Abdullah, while chief prosecutor was Abdul Gani Patail (right), who was later promoted to take over from his boss.

In overturning Anwar’s conviction, the Federal Court noted that the prosecutors had submitted three different dates of the alleged sodomy act.

The infamous mattress

On other allegations – including those made by former Kuala Lumpur criminal investigation department chief Mat Zain Ibrahim – that Musa had took blood samples from Anwar in 1998 without his consent, the former police chief claimed he had done so legally.

Musa said he took action after Anwar’s wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, in an interview with BBC, claimed that her husband might be forcefully given an injection with the HIV virus while under custody.

The interview was done a day after the balaclava-clad police stormed Anwar’s house on Sept 20, 1998 and arrested the former deputy premier (right).

“When she made such allegations, I had to make a report as I was afraid the police force was being slandered. Under the law, the police or doctors could ask for blood samples to be tested.

“I took it to check for AIDS. It is not as though I cheated. All this was done according to procedure,” said Musa.

Sample also used for DNA testing

When pressed further, Musa admitted he also took Anwar’s blood sample for DNA testing.

“Yes, I did use the blood for DNA tests. I used it to test on the mattress. I have to conduct a full investigation as the allegations in the book ‘50 reasons why Anwar cannot be PM‘ was extensive as there was the affair at the Tivoli Villa and other allegations,” he said.

The display of the mattress in court became the focal point of critics who claimed that Anwar was being put through a sham trial. Evidence involving the mattress was later rejected by the court.

Allegations about how the blood and DNA samples were sourced was later revived by Mat Zain in a series of open letters as recent as last year and used by Anwar in a police report against Musa and Abdul Gani for alleged fabrication of evidence.

Controversial Doctor appointed by the A-G

Asked about the infamous ‘black-eye incident’, Musa revealed that medical witness who claimed that Anwar’s black eye could have been self-inflicted was appointed by the then attorney-general. The witness was Dr Abdul Rahman Yusof from Hospital Kuala Lumpur.

Musa said there were many police personel in Anwar’s lock-up cell when he was punched in the face, including Rahim and former Bukit Aman Commercial Crimes Investigation Department Head Ramli Yusuf.

“There is no intention to fabricate evidence as they (the A-G’s Chambers) can call their own experts,” claimed Musa.

A Royal Commission of Inquiry later concluded that it was Rahim who punched Anwar, causing the infamous bruise on the latter’s left eye which was used as the symbol for the reformasi movement and later incorporated into Parti Keadilan Nasional’s logo.