HOME Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today said he approved a working trip sponsored by the Malaysian Totalisator Board to Turkey for Inspector-General of Police Mohamad Fuzi Harun and 16 other high-ranking police personnel.

“I gave the approval and the trip was sponsored to tackle online gambling. But I was not informed on how many personnel went to Turkey and if they had flown on business-class tickets.

“It was sponsored by Totalisator, a statutory board under the Finance Ministry,” Muhyiddin said today.

The board, formed under the Racing (Totalisator Board) Act 1961, is responsible for controlling and coordinating betting on horse races. 

Muhyiddin also denied claims that the trip was a gift for Fuzi, who is due to retire on his birthday in May.

“The purpose (of the trip) was about (fighting) online gambling and it is useful. (It is) not about (bringing) someone who will be retiring soon. We don’t do that.

“I approved it because it was a useful trip. But as I said, I do not know how many people went for it or which tickets they bought,” he said.

Fuzi’s trip to Istanbul was highlighted by whistle-blower site Sarawak Report on Sunday.

It reported that Fuzi and his men stayed at the four-star Hotel Sura Hagia Sophia in Sultanahmet. According to Booking.com, weekend rates at the hotel are roughly RM685 per night.

A return business-class ticket on those days cost RM6,154 outbound and RM8,800 return – a total of RM14,954 per officer.

That comes to RM254,218 in total for flights and about RM58,225 for the rooms, before taking meals and expenses into account, the portal reported.

A high-ranking police source who spoke to The Malaysian Insight had also hit out at Fuzi, saying he should retire and enjoy his pension if he was no longer interested in working.

Photos of the trip are circulating, and unhappy quarters within the police force have questioned whether Turkey was the appropriate place to learn about online gambling while others said it was wrong to spend so much in government funds.

Bukit Aman’s corporate communications chief Asmawati Ahmad had told The Malaysian Insight that the IGP was on a working visit to Istanbul.

Asmawati, however, refused to comment on the other officers who accompanied the IGP.

According to Sarawak Report, among those that had joined Fuzi were Criminal Investigation Department director Wan Ahmad Najimuddin, Narcotics Department chief Mohamad Salleh and Bukit Aman Anti-Vice, Gambling and Secret Societies Division principal assistant director Rohaimi Md Isa. – February 12, 2019.