INSPECTOR-GENERAL of Police Mohamad Fuzi Harun’s trip to Turkey with a delegation of top brass was approved in 2017, when Barisan Nasional was in power, said Lim Guan Eng.

The finance minister’s statement today comes after the group’s supposed working trip received more flak, following the emergence of photos showing them sightseeing.

“I understand that the (Totalisator) board of directors approved this in 2017,” Bernama quoted Lim as saying.

The Malaysian Totalisator Board is an agency under the Finance Ministry.

Lim was responding to criticism by Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, who said the ministry is insensitive towards Muslims as the Totalisator Board is responsible for controlling and coordinating betting on horse racing.

“We need to remind him that while he is pointing one finger at (me), he has four fingers pointing at himself,” Lim told reporters at a Customs Department event.

“I believe he (Asyraf) was a deputy minister then.”

Asyraf was previously deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Islamic affairs.

Fuzi’s trip to Istanbul, along with 17 other high-ranking police officers, was first highlighted by whistle-blower website Sarawak Report.

Some of the officers were accompanied by their wives, and photos of them were published by Sarawak Report.

The portal said the group stayed at a four-star hotel and flew business class, making expenses for the trip about RM300,000.

Yesterday, Lim waded into the controversy, saying his ministry did not spend a single sen on the trip, and that the funds were from number-forecasting company Da Ma Cai and approved by the Totalisator Board.

Earlier, Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said he had approved the trip, but did not know how many police officers went and if they had flown on business-class tickets.

The trip was purportedly to study how Turkey tackles online gambling. – February 14, 2019.