The Altantuya Murder: Call for Full Public Inquiry
The prosecution of the case has been disgraceful from the start, with the failure to establish the motive for Altantuya’s murder the most questionable of all. Through the case, the labored attempts by both prosecution and defence to obstruct the probe into any involvement of the then defence minister were also most bewildering. The prosecution has said they will appeal to the Federal Court but are Malaysians going to be treated to more of the same farce?
Dr Kua Kia Soong, SUARAM Adviser
Nothing short of a full public inquiry into the Altantuya murder and the motive for her murder will do. The acquittal of the two former bodyguards of then defence minister, Najib Razak by the Appeal Court is the ultimate in the farce that has typified the Altantuya murder trial since 2006.
The prosecution of the case has been disgraceful from the start, with the failure to establish the motive for Altantuya’s murder the most questionable of all. Through the case, the labored attempts by both prosecution and defence to obstruct the probe into any involvement of the then defence minister were also most bewildering. The prosecution has said they will appeal to the Federal Court but are Malaysians going to be treated to more of the same farce?
We need the equivalent of the 2004 Hutton Report when a public inquiry was held in Britain over the death of Dr David Kelly, a Ministry of Defence biological weapons expert who knew the truth about the British government’s claim that Saddam Hussein could launch his weapons of mass destruction in 45 minutes as had been claimed by the Blair administration. And this time, let us ensure that there is a fair composition of independent members to make such an inquiry believable.
Too many inconsistencies
There have been too many inconsistencies in the Altantuya case which warrant truthful answers, for example, is it true that all records of Altantuya’s entry and presence in Malaysia were erased from the computers of the Immigration Department?
Among the “strange” twists was the sudden removal of the presiding judge before the trial started without giving a plausible explanation to the lawyers, not to mention the head of the prosecution team was changed at the eleventh hour. Finally, defence lawyers for the three accused kept changing with one walking out on the first day of hearing, charging that “third parties” were interfering in his work.
Public doubt, however, worsened after both defence lawyers and prosecutors cut off a witness (Altantuya’s cousin) from testifying furtherwhen she revealed that the victim had shown her a photograph of herself, Baginda, Najib and “others” having lunch in a Paris restaurant. The court too did not ask the witness to produce the photograph.
SUARAM will not rest until justice has been done in the murder of Altantuya. We believe that her murder is linked to the millions of ringgit in commissions associated with the RM7 billion Scorpene submarines deal. By her own admission in a letter found after her death, she was attempting to blackmail Razak Baginda for US$500,000. She was shot in October 2006 and her body was blown up with military explosives by two bodyguards attached to Najib’s office after Razak Baginda went to Najib’s chief of staff, Musa Safri, for help in stopping her demands. The submarine deal was never brought up in court during the murder trial which saw prosecutors, defense attorneys and the judge judiciously keeping Najib’s name out of the proceedings.
Thus, SUARAM calls for the urgent establishment of a full public inquiry into the murder of Altantuya with terms of reference that include the motives for her murder and her links to the Scorpene submarines deal. Members of the committee must be seen to be independent and respected members of the judiciary and the community.
