Zaid calls for inquiry: did Najib know Altantuya?
Former minister asks Malaysians to support Dr M’s fight for answers on Najib’s government
(Free Malaysia Today) – Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim has called for a proper inquiry to determine if prime minister Najib Razak knew Altantuya Shaariibuu, the Mongolian woman who was murdered eight years ago, who was implicated in the Navy’s purchase of two French-built submarines.
Zaid wrote in in his blog today that a proper enquiry was needed to determine if Najib knew Altantuya. “If the answer is no, then it might be true that no one ordered Sirul to kill her and that (Azilah Hadri, the other accused) and Sirul acted of their own volition. We can then all sleep easy,” he said.
Najib was also indirectly implicated in the case through his association with a defence analyst whose company received millions in commissions, and through two members of a VIP protection unit who were convicted and sentenced to death for the murder.
One of the two, Sirul Azhar Umar, fled to Australia while awaiting the court decision. Dr Mahathir has called for the case to be reopened to determine the truth of Sirul’s statements that he was only acting under orders.
Zaid criticised a media blackout of Dr Mahathir’s call for answers and urged all Malaysians to support the former prime minister in his search of answers.
He questioned why Najib had “taken the trouble to go to a mosque” to take an oath that he had never known Altantuya. “He just needed to say so. I don’t know Paris Hilton, Ziana Zain or Madonna and there’s no need for me to take an oath to that effect,” Zaid said.
Zaid postulated that the only reason for Najib to do so “was probably because someone declared in an affidavit that Najib knew Altantuya”, Zaid said. “This would have been extremely damaging, and why would anyone say something like that if it were not true?
Zaid said Najib’s lack of explanation was a characteristic of his six-year-old administration. Another characteristic was the climate of fear in the country, with people afraid to speak.
He decried “a complete blackout” in Umno and Barisan Nasional-owned media about Dr Mahathir’s article on Thursday in which he raised questions about the wealth of Najib Razak’s family, the Altantuya murder, the financial affairs of government-owned 1Malaysia Development Bhd and the reported government purchase of a new VIP jet.
He said Mahathir’s statements received no coverage or comment in the Umno-BN media empire, using the word journalists within quotation marks to cast doubt about their professionalism. “Either they believe that news is not newsworthy, or they were too frightened to publish his statements as any good journalists should have,” he said.
