By Mariam Mokhtar

Convicted murderer, Azilah Hadri, dropped a bombshell on 16 December. He said that disgraced Najib Abdul Razak, who was the deputy prime minister in 2006, had ordered him to kill Mongolian model and translator, Altantuya Shaariibuu.

He delayed the release of his allegation to save his reputation and life. He knows that he has jeopardised his safety.

If he were to be silenced now, the truth would die with him and his premature death would raise even more suspicions. The authorities should increase his security, and ensure that all the cameras in the facility are working and pointing in the right direction.

The threat may not be an external one. Fellow prisoners, or the prison wardens could be induced with handsome cash rewards, promotions, or threats on their families lives. A prisoner could be tempted with an early release or extra privileges. Some prisoners would have nothing to lose. In Malaysia, cash is king.

The Altantuya murder was mired in controversy. If not for a taxi driver, who was furious that he had not been paid in full, we would not have learnt about the events leading up to Altantuya’s death.

As Najib’s close friend and confidante, Razak Baginda, and his wife, Mazlinda Makhzan, earned around 114.96 million Euros (RM534.8 mil) as commission through their company Perimekar. Najib was also the Minister of Defence (Mindef) at the time. Why does Mindef need to purchase armaments via a middleman? Are officials at Mindef inadequate or unqualified?

It has been 13 years since Altantuya was murdered in a jungle clearing in Shah Alam. She was first shot at close range, and her body blown up with C4 explosives.

Former chief inspector, Azilah, and former corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, both police commandos, were convicted of Altantuya’s murder and received the death sentence. Azilah has been on death row, in Malaysia, but Sirul managed to escape to Australia, where he has been detained.

More importantly, Sirul claimed that he used to assassinate people. Why has his admission not been acted upon by PDRM? The police are meant to protect us and ensure public safety. They are not paid assassins, earning a side income, liquidating people whom others consider undesirable.

Meanwhile, Najib has claimed that Azilah’s allegation is a “fabrication” and conspiracy, concocted by Pakatan Harapan to silence and imprison him.

He said, “I was also told that the new story from Harapan (regarding Altantuya’s murder) would open the way for the government to detain and imprison me without bail, because there is no bail for murder cases.

“Only through this can Harapan silence me.”

Why is Najib so afraid of Azilah’s latest allegation? If he were innocent, he should have nothing to fear, whether or not there is a retrial.

Many Malaysians are not surprised by Azilah’s allegation. They are only surprised by the timing. Why now?

Najib has tried to portray this allegation as a character assassination. He forgets that when he was in power, his word was law. No-one dared to oppose him.

This will explain why Azilah did not make the allegation at the time, he knew that he would not have been believed. Moreover, those who knew too much, came to serious harm, or ended up in oil drums, or were gunned down. Others have been sacked or discredited.

Remember the private investigator P Balasubramaniam (Bala)? The police recorded no less than five statements from him, but all the references to Najib were deleted. Why?

When Bala discovered that his testimony as a witness in Altantuya’s murder was withheld, and the evidence suppressed, he felt it necessary to make a statutory declaration (SD). His family was then threatened and his silence was bought to force him to retract his SD. One day later, he issued a sanitised version of the SD.

Bala and his team of lawyers held a press conference in London, on July 7, 2010. This was supposed to be a platform to discuss issues raised during a scheduled interview of Bala by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). When the MACC cancelled at the last minute, their non-appearance generated more questions than answers.

So why did Azilah wait until now to make this explosive allegation? Perhaps he wanted to see if he could trust the new Pakatan Harapan administration. Perhaps, he worried that it would fold within months of winning GE-14.

He and Sirul once acted as Najib’s bodyguards. On the night of Altantuya’s abduction, Nasir Safar (Najib’s aide) and Musa Safri, (Najib’s ADC) were seen outside Baginda’s house. What information do they have?

When Baginda was arrested, his wife, Mazlinda was hysterical and shouted, “Why charge my husband? He does not want to be the prime minister.” This was an apparent reference to Bala’s statement that Najib had “passed” Altantuya to Baginda, because Malaysians would not approve of a future PM who had a foreign mistress. Najib would eventually succeed Abdullah Badawi as PM. Azilah’s allegation now provide us with another motive.

The trial revealed many unexplained phone texts between Najib and Baginda’s lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah. This was interference at the highest level. One text message read, “…pls do not say anything to the press today. i will explain later. RB (Razak Baginda) will have to face a tentative charge, but all is not lost.” (sic)

It looks like Altantuya and the Scorpene submarines have one thing in common. Both have the potential to sink Najib.

Sources:

1. MalaysiaKini:
‘We had no motive to kill Altantuya’

2. MalaysiaKini:
MACC cancels London interview with PI Bala

3. MalaysiaKini:
Nancy: Insufficient proof to pursue Razak Baginda

4. YouTube:
Altantuya: PI Bala dedah siapa terlibat

5. The Star:
Razak tells of affair

6. The Star:
Altantuya trial: Razak Baginda loses his cool

7. Word Press:
For the love of your children, do not let Najib become PM!

8. Asia Sentinel:
Fury, scorn and murder in a Malaysian courtroom

9. The Star:
Wife maintains political analyst is innocent

10. Lim Kit Siang’s blog:
RM534.8 million commission for Scorpene submarines – why Perimekar?

(
Mariam Mokhtar
is a Freelance Writer.)