KUALA LUMPUR – Police are investigating potential links between a poison-pen letter criticising the Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) management and three recent attacks on national players.
Bukit Aman’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said police are looking into whether possible dissatisfaction with the governing body’s response to allegations in the letter could have led to irresponsible individuals lashing out against the footballers.
“FAM said the criticism (detailed in a letter circulated last month) was baseless, so police are probing whether such a statement could have caused the attacks (against national players).
“Displeasure with FAM could have been taken out on the national players. We’re investigating this from all aspects and angles,” Shuhaily told a press conference at the Bukit Aman headquarters, here today.
Police, he added, are waiting on the forensic report on the acid used in the attack on Faisal, in the hopes that an identification of the chemical used could provide some clues.
Previously, a poison-pen letter in the form of an email made the rounds on social media, raising alleged issues related to the leadership and management of FAM.
The four main allegations concerned abuse of power by FAM’s secretary-general Datuk Noor Azman Rahman, salaries and benefits of staff, issues involving the Harimau Malaya squad and the National Training Centre project.
FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin had gone on to deny the allegations, insisting that the association had never misused its funds nor committed any of the wrongdoings the letter accused it of.
As of April 29, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) investigation into the national training centre project has yielded no irregularities or elements of corruption.
Meanwhile, Shuhaily said that while police have been able to identify similar modus operandi for all three attacks, it remains unclear if the attacks are linked to one another.
“There was a gap of two days between the first and second attack, followed by another two-day gap to the third attack.
“In all three cases, the victims were followed prior to being attacked by perpetrators working as a pair. However, since we haven’t identified a possible motive for the attacks, we can’t say that the cases are connected.”
He also urged the public to avoid speculating on the matter and allow police investigations to be carried out according to due process.
Last night, Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) midfielder Safiq Rahim fell victim to an attack by two unidentified individuals near the club’s training centre in Seri Gelam.
The incident, which saw his car being damaged, came in the wake of two prior cases involving Selangor FC player Faisal Halim, who was subjected to an acid attack, and Terengganu FC player Akhyar Rashid, whose home in Kuala Terengganu was robbed. – May 8, 2024