Poison pen letter: Cops call up former, current FAM staff

The hunt for the author of a damning poison pen letter that was emailed to stakeholders, including several media agencies just before the 60th FAM Annual Congress on April 1, intensifies.

Police called up several former and current FA of Malaysia (FAM) employees over the past several weeks to assist in investigations.

It is understood that former and current staff of the national body, some of whom were named in the poison pen letter, were summoned to Bukit Aman. They were called up in batches, and were asked various questions regarding the contents of the letter, and the goings-on at Wisma FAM.

Several of them confirmed with Twentytwo13 that they had met with investigating officers in Bukit Aman. Twentytwo13 reached out to the Royal Malaysia Police yesterday, seeking clarification over the investigation, including claims that at least three individuals took a polygraph test.

The poison pen letter highlighted, among others, issues surrounding FAM’s leadership, funding, the National Training Centre (NTC) project, allegations of theft and, the president, Datuk Hamidin Amin’s salary. The letter also stated that as many as 12 employees had left FAM, allegedly due to internal issues.

Hamidin rubbished the allegations during a press conference after the Congress, adding that the national body was mulling lodging a police report over the matter. As for allegations that he received a monthly salary of RM90,000, not inclusive of allowances from the Asian Football Confederation and Fifa, Hamidin said it was a personal matter.

On May 8, Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Shuhaily Zain said police were looking into the possibility that the recent assaults on three Malaysian footballers – Akhyar Rashid, Faisal Halim, and Safiq Rahim – were linked to the poison pen letter. The motive and the culprits behind the attacks remain unknown.

On May 19, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, cleared FAM of any wrongdoings related to the RM25 million NTC project that was raised in the letter.

MACC chief, Tan Sri Azam Baki, had earlier told reporters that the RM25 million funding was actually from Fifa, that FAM only conducted the procurement for a contractor through a tendering process, and that the results of the process was submitted to the world body for approval.

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