Exclusive interview with the author of 'Murdered in Malaysia: The Altantuya Story'

Author  & blogger E.S. Shankar in his study

When did the idea of writing Murdered in Malaysia: The Altantuya Story first occur to you? How long did the process take till completion?

The idea was planted in my head by my cousin in June 2014. Like me, he was outraged that here was an open-and-shut case of a massive cover-up being so obviously orchestrated by the State, and no one was doing anything to expose it. People with no motive whatsoever were being convicted of murder. The entire machinery of justice – the police, AG, prosecutors, defence lawyers and the Judiciary – had been subverted and hopelessly undermined and compromised by Najib and his wife Rosmah, and yet the citizens seemed powerless to stop this travesty of justice.

I shot off the opening chapter the day following that conversation with my cousin. The outline of that chapter is pretty much as you see it now, relying on my memory, as I had been writing about the Altantuya murder at my blog for several years.

I completed the book in March 2015. I could have completed it earlier, but between October and December 2014, I had writer’s block and also got stuck on how to retrieve voluminous high court trial transcripts.

Were you able to gather any data directly from individuals linked to the drama or did you have to rely entirely on internet research?

No, I conducted no interviews, as I did not wish to alert anyone about this dangerous project, especially government authorities. Most of the material was gathered from internet research and blogs.

You mentioned at the start of the book that there were rumors of Altantuya Shaariibuu being a foreign agent, part of a honeytrap sting operation. Did you come across any further evidence that this may have been the case? Or do you believe she was merely misguided in the kind of company she kept?

The source of this possible foreign agent suspicion is from a certain Gopal Raj’s blog. Full details of this blog post is in Appendix 22 of MIM.

Altantuya Shaariibuu at a party

My gut feeling tells me that Altantuya meeting Abdul Razak Baginda was no coincidence or chance encounter. Given what had transpired with DCNS and the submarines scandals and murders in Taiwan and Pakistan, there is a strong possibility that someone in France recruited Altantuya with the intention of seducing Abdul Razak Baginda. After all, Abdul Razak Baginda was never a philandering husband or playboy before, did not have cash to burn and does not exactly have Hollywood or Bollywood looks, does he?

French investigators also found documents which incriminate Abdul Razak Baginda with leaking official secrets concerning the Navy’s procurement specifications and plans for which he was paid RM142 million.

So, it is not beyond the pale that DCNS once again recruited a femme fatale, this time Altantuya, to compromise Abdul Razak Baginda, as they did with Lily Liu in the Taiwan scandal.

The complication arises from PI Bala’s Statutory Declaration, where he claims Najib introduced Altantuya to Baginda. So, was Najib compromised in some way by the French as well? Scary thought, but interesting, isn’t it?

Did you have the opportunity to speak with P.I. Balasubramaniam before his suspiciously timed fatal heart attack a week before he was scheduled to go on the road with the Altantuya saga? If so, what did you learn from this personal contact?

No, I never met or spoken to PI Bala or his wife.

But, having read all the newspaper and online news portal articles, blogs and watched every single connected YouTube video, my honest opinion is that there was nothing suspicious about PI Bala’s heart attack and subsequent death.

Conspiracy theorists may beg to differ, but during that period he was constantly in the company of friends and family. The people linked to Altantuya’s murder may be at home with guns, bullets and C4 explosives. But crediting them with inducing remote-controlled coronary failures with or without chemicals and/or poison, would be far-fetched.

Of course in superstition-bound Malaysia, Deepak’s book about Rosmah’s witchcraft and bomoh sorties and escapades cannot be totally ignored!

There have been numerous U-turns made by various individuals linked to the case: first there was the dramatic withdrawal of P.I. Bala's incendiary statutory declaration of 1st July 2008, followed by a second statutory declaration on 4th July which glaringly omitted all references to Najib Razak. Then there was RPK's shocking appearance on TV3 in April 2011 where he backpedalled on his explosive 18 June 2008 statutory declaration naming Rosmah Mansor as an active party to the execution of the Mongolian woman. Following that we had Deepak Jaikishan's titillating series of media conferences wherein he revealed his own role in the dramatic damage control exercise following P.I. Bala's first SD, in the process implicating Najib Razak's brother Nazim, as well as Cecil Abraham, a senior legal counsel, in the cover-up. Shortly after Deepak's public confessions, there were reports of shady land deals involving Umno bigwigs who had attempted to shortchange Deepak, thereby prompting him to spill the beans. In the aftermath, Deepak Jaikishan abruptly vanished from public view, and even the Bar Council's disciplinary hearing on Cecil Abraham's alleged role in the cover-up eventually evaporated into thin air. Do you believe money was the common denominator in all these high-profile U-turns? Or might there have been ominous threats involved?

We have to look at each case separately.

PI Bala was certainly coerced into withdrawing SD1. His wife and children’s lives were also threatened. They were bundled out of Malaysia to Singapore, Thailand, and then India, within 24 hours of SD1. Who has the power to do that in Malaysia? Who has the power to alter immigration records, as testified to by Altantuya’s cousin?  No doubt PI Bala, finding himself in a Catch 22 situation, tried to make some money in the circumstances he was thrust into. But, his primary motivation in pointing the finger at Najib and others was never money.

RPK’s son Azman who was in prison on trumped-up charges of theft had claimed he was being tortured in prison and had attempted suicide. The relationship between father and long-lost son may have been tenuous. But, it would have taken a cold-hearted father of stone to ignore a son’s dire predicament in that situation. Whatever deal RPK made with Najib, the result was his son was freed and found his way to safety soon in London.

But everyone must remember that in RPK’s original SD, he clearly did not say what everyone thought he did. The opening sentence there clearly starts with “I have been reliably informed…” He was clearly saying he only had second-hand knowledge of the accusations against Najib and Rosmah. So, he can’t really be faulted for everyone’s presumption. Of course he could have clarified it later, instead of allowing the apparent misunderstanding to mushroom internationally, but did nothing to dampen opinions that Najib and Rosmah were guilty.

When he attempted to do so in the 2011 TV3 interview, he of course lost credibility and respect. Legions of his fans dumped him forever.

Deepak Jaikishan the carpet dealer

What we should now take seriously are Deepak’s numerous accusations implicating Najib and Rosmah in Altantuya’s murder and in coercing PI Bala to recant SD1.

Deepak belongs in that exclusive class of Malaysia’s amoral Alibaba fraudtrepreneurs. Money is his only credo. He was investigated by MACC and Bank Negara and came out with guns blazing that he was fronting for Najib and Rosmah.

But, so far he has not been sued by Najib or Rosmah for his accusatory YouTube videos, Black Rose 1.0, witchcraft book, etc. So, the public are entitled to assume that Najib and Rosmah are guilty.

We can also assume that Deepak has the real goods on Najib and Rosmah, for how else can he still be walking tall and free?

Deepak did not vanish. He got married in 2014 and probably needed some private time to think things out, given the additional family baggage and responsibility.

He also came out last year saying he was prepared to testify against Najib and Rosmah under oath if he were granted full immunity.

In recent days, it has emerged that Deepak has decided not to contest the civil case filed against him by PI Bala’s wife, represented by solicitor Americk Sidhu. This basically means that all that PI Bala had stated in SD1 is true and Deepak concurs that Najib and Rosmah were absolutely behind PI Bala’s disappearance and withdrawal of SD1.

As for the Bar Council's ongoing inquiry into Cecil Abraham’s possible misconduct – illegally drafting PI Bala’s SD2 - we are still waiting for a public announcement of its verdict. The delay is annoying, but no doubt they will come out with some statement like: “The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine” - or something boring like that.

There are hundreds of interwoven threads around the Altantuya murder case involving complexities within complexities. How were you able to gather these seemingly disparate threads and re-weave them into a coherent, readable narrative? Did you use index cards or special software to keep the data organized and accessible?

E.S. Shankar: encyclopedic erudition

No, it’s nothing special. I did it the old-fashioned way that has much to do with my UK (London) accountancy training as what in those days was referred to as an ‘articled clerk.’ I went about it methodically, downloaded and organized articles and links in folders in my Dell laptop, and made copious notes in an old diary. I then read and re-read them many, many times to gather and understand it all.

Fortunately, I have an analytical brain that can (no, I don’t have a photographic memory) accommodate and retain a vast array of information, recall and search out the threads, and often make connections, and write them out in a logical and fairly readable manner.

Please give us a brief summary of your career prior to your embarking on your current vocation as an author of controversial books?

I must first tell you that during my schooldays, Mokhtar Dahari, Malaysia’s greatest footballer, was in the same year in Victoria Institution as I was. We both played for the VI U/15 first eleven. We even used to cycle home together. This is something I have always been proud of and can never forget.

I am what is called a P/Q accountant (part qualified). I did not get through all my final Chartered Accountancy (ICAEW) exam papers way back in the 1980’s. On returning to Malaysia, I worked as the financial controller and later CEO in a leading private company. After stints at business development at two real estate Plcs, and a brief stint as a consultant at a Plc, I quit working in 2009, to embark on full-time writing.

Like so many, I was outraged by the kangaroo courts and crooked trials in the persecution of Anwar Ibrahim. I decided I had to do something to stop Malaysia from becoming a police state and embarked on satire and sopo blogging, as writing was my forte. The threads of my various blog posts led to Tiger Isle: A Government of Thieves published by Gerakbudaya Enterprise.

However, Tiger Isle was not my first book. In 2011 I collated all my blog posts from my VI blog (about my schooldays between 1966-1972) and self-published them as a hard-cover book titled Let Us Now With Thankfulness. Sales were surprisingly brisk.

I have a great interest in Malaysian history, and have written articles about Parameswara, Hang Li Po, etc., based on the Sejarah Melayu, and a short piece titled A Brief History of the Peoples of Malaya.

Besides that, I read everything I can get my hands on about cosmology, quantum theory and phenomena (so far I have understood perhaps about 30%, probably less, of what I’ve read). My other hobbies besides reading are cricket, football and music (very eclectic taste as in books).

Your debut novel, Tiger Isle: A Government of Thieves, was published in late 2012. It depicts a fictional kleptocracy broadly inspired by actual events and characters in Malaysia. Was the book well received by the public and did it result in any unwanted attention from the Malaysian secret police?

Yes, the initial print was well received and sold out. But, there have been no reprint orders, despite the fact that Tiger Isle won the 3rd prize for fiction in the STAR/Popular national literary awards. Booker prize winner Tan Twan Eng’s The Garden of Evening Mists was placed 2nd!!

As for unwanted attention from the Special Branch, no, I received none. I was told by some informed bloggers that the standard of English is so poor in Malaysia nowadays, that a satire/fiction novel in English would fly way below the radar of Najib’s thugs and goons.

Was Murdered in Malaysia written in Malaysia or when you were living abroad? Did you go into voluntary exile because you anticipated unpleasant consequences if you remained in the country? Or were you already planning to migrate anyway?

MIM was conceived and completed wholly in Malaysia.

I went overseas only in September of this year, as clearly, I feared for my safety and life once the book was published. I am no Mandela, and as someone recently said, you can’t do much fighting from the inside of a prison.

I have never contemplated emigrating. Malaysia has always been my home. If the coast was clear, I would return home in a flash.

Altantuya & son

From all the evidence already on hand it would appear that the only reasonable conclusion we can arrive at is that there has been a colossal cover-up to protect the most powerful couple in the nation. With the Attorney-General's Chambers and the Chief of Police actively collaborating to suppress a potential resurrection of the Altantuya case - and with the Scorpene investigation in France yielding no further results after several years - do you envisage any unforeseen breakthroughs that might lead to a final denouement in this gruesome drama?

No one must be allowed to get away with murder. No one. In the Altantuya killing, we also have the added spice of corruption involving the RM7.5 billion Scorpene submarines, treason and perversion of the course of justice by Najib and Rosmah. The Navy, police, AG and judiciary are all involved in this travesty of justice.

No, we must keep pressing till Najib is thrown out of office, and a truly independent Royal Commission of Inquiry is instituted to lift us out of the clutches of this government of murderers and thieves.

One of the convicted assassins is currently detained by Australian immigration, while the other is presumably still in prison pending execution. Do you feel there might be a possibility that either or both may decide to go public with their stories and tell all?

I doubt either will talk any more. Azilah has remained silent from day one. We can safely assume that whatever deal was struck between him and Najib/Rosmah, it has been honored and he will go to the gallows as his part of the bargain. Of course, there is talk (not to be discounted) that eventually, he will receive a royal pardon.

Sirul has now made the startling admission that it was Abduk Razak Baginda who pulled the trigger. Despite that, our worthless and political IGP insists that there is no new evidence to re-open the murder investigations. Should he not be hung by his goolies?

I also believe that Sirul is using his safe position in Australia to canvass for money from Najib. He has asked for A$15 million to keep his gap shut. No, he will never go public with so much money at stake.

In recent months another monumental scandal has erupted in the form of 1MDB. Do you feel this massive financial debacle has eclipsed the Altantuya murder? Many who seemed apathetic to seeing justice being done in the Mongolian murder case now appear to be galvanized into action by the prospect of being held liable to a public debt of unprecedented proportions. Does this suggest to you that money remains the bottom line - not ethics, morality, or justice?

No, the Altantuya murder has not been forgotten in Malaysia or in the rest of the world. Do remember that PI Bala’s civil case against PM Najib and his two brothers, Rosmah, etc, is not over. I would bet my bottom dollar that Americk Sidhu and his team will not let up even if our judges continue to place obstacles in their way.

Do not forget that the 101 East team from Al Jazeera is keeping close tabs on every development of the case - as is Sarawak Report, The Wall Street Journal, Asia Sentinel, The Economist, and one or two leading newspapers in Australia..

The 1MDB fraud and fiasco is godsent. It has furnished us firm, additional evidence that Najib is a serial liar and thief, and is unfit to be the prime minister of even a fourth world state. His statement that RM2.6 billion deposited in his personal bank account was a “donation from a friendly Arab party’ has provoked intense anger and outrage among Malaysians as never before.

The real problem in Malaysia is public apathy created by Najib and his minions with our descent into a police state. The well-off fear loss of their accumulated wealth and comforts. The silent majority have that ‘let that other guy fight for our rights’ attitude. If push comes to shove, they will sulk in silence or emigrate. So, ethics and morality are forced to take a back seat while the nation burns.

History tells us that a few good men and women will have to lead and make the sacrifices.

As a relatively young independent nation, we have a long way to go before ethics, justice, moral and human rights issues take precedence over money. You must remember that before the USA became what it is today, they had to fight a war of independence and go through a civil war, all within 100 years of 1775.

So, there is hope for Malaysia yet!

Najib and Rosmah remain in charge of the main levers of government, despite being the target of so much negative publicity. Yet the feeling on the ground is that their luck has almost run out and that they will soon be forced to step down, no matter whom they bribe. Do you think, when they are no longer in power, that the Altantuya saga will be revived and finally resolved?

The era of Najib/Rosmah’s villainy is a shameful period in Malaysian history. Our Constitution will have to be amended to ensure that never again shall so much power be allowed to be concentrated in one person’s hands.

The Altantuya murder MUST be one of the primary issues to be resolved post-Najib/Rosmah. The PEOPLE must be protected from such an incident ever again recurring.

What would be the ideal of scenario, in your view, if power changes hands in Malaysia? Under what circumstances would you feel comfortable enough to return to your homeland?

Power will definitely change hands for the better in Malaysia. It is only a question of when. Look at Japan, Taiwan, Korea, India and China and no one can doubt that the change WILL come.

Ideally, we should proscribe race or religion based political parties. Religion should be removed from the province of government funded or aided schools and institutions of higher learning, government offices and statutory bodies.

I will negotiate to return as soon as Najib is thrown out of office. I will ask for immunities from government prosecution and/or private criminal or civil law suits relating to MIM, and guarantees for my safety and that of my family.

Blog - http://donplaypuks.blogspot.com/

Website - http://esshankar.com/

MURDERED IN MALAYSIA: THE ALTANTUYA STORY

This meticulously researched, honest and informative book is for you and for all those Malaysians who want to know the full truth about the disgraceful and barbaric murder of a Mongolian girl, who had the misfortune to associate herself with persons which led ultimately to her murder and the disintegration of her dead body, and perhaps her unborn child, by explosion.

E.S Shankar has produced a tour de force in terms of research and the comprehensive scope of his enquiries, leaving no stone unturned in his quest to bring to light facts that were disgracefully suppressed and covered up by one of the most shocking examples of interference in the judiciary that Malaysia has experienced in its history. The impact on the independence of Malaysia's law enforcement agencies has been far-reaching and malign.

Clare Rewcastle-Brown

Sarawak Report

Encourage your friends to buy this book and support 

freedom of information and justice.

[First posted 19 October 2015]

ALTANTUYA MURDER ~ THE MISSING LINKS by Americk Sidhu (reprise)

COMMENT This is the first time in 38 years I have actually found myself in agreement with (former) prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his recent, although rather belated, queries in respect of the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder saga.

These questions make sense. These are the same questions a very large portion of the Malaysian population has been asking for over eight years now.

Khalid Abu Bakar (right), our beloved (former) inspector-general of police (IGP), has in the meantime, been performing backward somersaults trying to avoid the entire issue and instead, appears to have dedicated his entire career to tracking Twitter messages on social media.

'Twitter Khalid' has even had the audacity to threaten (which he is very good at) anyone who dares to bring up the issue of 'motive' in the grisly murder of an innocent female foreign national at the hands of two of Malaysia's best trained commandos.

The excuse Khalid has given is that the Federal Court has made a decision and any questioning of the reasons behind that decision would be tantamount to contempt of court.

What Khalid has failed miserably to appreciate is the fact that no one is 'questioning' that decision. Everyone agrees the decision is correct.

However, it is the question of motive which has never been addressed in any of the three courts this murder trial has progressed through. In fact, evidence in respect of motive was never tendered by the prosecution.

Therefore, as far as I (and Mahathir) are concerned, it is still open season on motive.

So instead of terrorising twitterers, perhaps Khalid may see fit to revisit this issue with a little more fervour than he has shown in the past.

Despite the press releases being launched from the IGP's office, none of them detract from the fact that convicted murderer Sirul Azhar Umar has categorically said no officer from the Polis Di-Raja Malaysia (PDRM) has visited him in Sydney to interview him.

If Khalid disputes this, all he has to do is release the names of those officers who ostensibly attended to Sirul (left) and the exact date and time they clocked in with the detention centre authorities. Inspector Tonny Luggan (the investigating officer in Altantuya's case) says he was not sent to see Sirul in Sydney, so who was?

Khalid is also reported to have said that "Sirul's remark showed the fugitive was doing his utmost to bring disrepute and cast doubt over the investigations into the murder case, his involvement and the criminal justice system."

Yes. That is correct, because it is obvious to everyone that your investigations are incomplete.

As the current series of events appear to translate, Sirul is not disputing his involvement in the murder. All he is saying is that others were involved and they haven't been brought to book so why should he take the rap?

One need not have successfully completed an in-depth course in criminal investigation at Pulapol (Malaysian Police Training Centre) to be able to decipher the glaring holes in this entire saga.

A cursory viewing of a couple of episodes of Miami Vice or CSI New York would suffice in providing a clue as to how the matter ought to have been professionally addressed.

The established facts

Azilah Hadri and Sirul have been convicted of the murder of Altantuya by the highest court in our land. This has therefore been proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

Azilah Hadri

In the circumstances, there can be no question that these two gentlemen were in fact responsible for lodging two bullets in this poor lady's head and thereafter detonating some military grade explosives placed on her body causing it to be dissipated in the vicinity of some secondary jungle on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.

Sirul, who has, rather astutely, sought refuge at the Villawood detention centre on the outskirts of Sydney, has candidly admitted he was acting under orders and that he has been made a scapegoat for others who had not been brought to court.

In other words, he has tacitly admitted to the crime and confirmed that there may have been others behind it.

The question is why would Sirul and Azilah (right) have done this for no apparent reason? The courts have been interested only in whether an offence of murder had been committed and not why it was committed.

The prosecution failed to seek or put forth an explanation.

This is really the question which the IGP can provide an answer to if he is so inclined. He certainly has the resources. As long as he possesses the will, he most certainly will find the way.

Khalid, for goodness sake, please, just do your job. At the moment the general public perceive inactivity on your part as yet another ubiquitous and notorious Malaysian cover-up.

May I suggest you simply haul up the following characters and ask them these simple questions:

Azilah - Why did you and Sirul kill someone you didn't even know?

DSP Musa Safri (left) (then aide de camp DPM Najib Razak) - What exactly did you tell Sirul and Azilah to do to that poor Mongolian lady and who exactly asked you to engage their services?

Nasir Safar (Najib’s special officer) - What were you doing driving around in front of Abdul Razak Baginda's house on the evening of Oct 19, 2006, watching Azilah and Sirul abduct Altantuya?

PM Najib - Did you know that four of your staff were involved in this? If so, then why were they?

Deepak Jaikishan (businessman with close ties to Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor - Who asked you to shut private eye P Balasubramaniam up and get him and his family out of Malaysia immediately after he released SD1 (first statutory declaration)? (This should be easy as Deepak has already confessed to all of this).

Rosmah - Was it you? If not, then who?

Johari Razak (Najib’s younger brother) - Did you telephone senior lawyer Cecil Abraham on the evening of July 3, 2008 and ask him to prepare SD2 for Balasubramaniam to sign? If so why, and on whose behalf?

Cecil - Did you receive a telephone call from Johari Razak on July 3, 2008 to prepare SD2? If so, did you?

Sunil Abraham (Cecil’s son, who is also a lawyer) - Did you or did you not, assist your father in preparing SD2 and did you then personally deliver it to the Hilton Hotel, KL Sentral on the morning of July 4, 2008?

Zainal Abidin Muhayat - Were you a commissioner for oaths in 2008 and did you have your office at Zul Rafique and Partners, Lorong P Ramlee, Kuala Lumpur? If so, who sent you to the Hilton Hotel, KL Sentral on July 4, 2008 to attest the signature of one Balasubramaniam on SD2?

Nazim Razak (another brother of Najib) - Were you and your wife at the Curve, Mutiara Damansara late in the night of July 3, 2008? If so did you meet one Balasubramaniam (right) next to the VW showroom?

And if so, did you or did you not, threaten Balasubramaniam to follow the instructions of one Deepak Jaikishan and leave the country with his family immediately, otherwise his family's safety could not be guaranteed?

Najib - Did you instruct Johari and Nazim to arrange, respectively, for SD2 to be prepared and Balasubramaniam's subsequent departure from Malaysia? If so, why was that necessary?

Hamzah Zainuddin (Umno MP for Larut) - Did you, in 2011, offer Balasubramaniam safe passage back to this country and a cash inducement if he pleaded guilty to affirming a false statutory declaration (SD1). If so, why and on behalf of whom?

Khalid, may I also suggest that you contact a senior investigation officer from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) by the name of Abdul Rahman Bachok. He is a very diligent officer and has the entire file on investigations into the circumstances under which Balasubramaniam affirmed SD2. I am sure he will lend you his file and assist you in any way he can.

I believe he is a little annoyed that his file has been closed by the Attorney-General's Chambers. He had put a lot of effort into his investigations.

You may also care to contact the Brickfields police station and ask them why they have not followed up on the police report I lodged on July 8, 2008 in respect of Balasubramaniam's disappearance. I have sent them reminders but there has been no response.

All the above 'persons of interest' and their answers to the questions posed may possibly assist in revealing a motive for the crime. Is there any reason why you, Mr IGP would be disinclined to pursue the matter further and if so what are those reasons?

---

AMERICK SIDHU is a senior lawyer and counsel for late P Balasubramaniam and his widow, A Santamil Selvi. Reproduced courtesy of Malaysiakini.

[First posted 6 April 2015]

Altantuya's Murder: The Orang Asli Factor (reprise)

It should have been the perfect cover-up. Troublesome Mongolian woman is "arrested" by plainclothes policemen outside the gates of Abdul Razak Baginda's residence where she had been causing embarrassment to the political analyst, defence consultant, speechwriter and personal friend of Najib Razak, Malaysia's defence minister and deputy PM. The Mongolian woman believes the Malaysian police will take her to the station, interrogate and intimidate her, and then forcibly deport her.

Nobody knows exactly what happened to Altantuya Shaariibuu between the time she was seen entering the Unit Tindakan Khas (Special Action Squad) officer's car and the time her body was blasted to tiny fragments with C4 explosives. Was she taken to Bukit Aman? Or driven to a secret location and toyed with before getting shot twice in the head (according to some reports)? Did her police abductors treat her with courtesy - or was she humiliated, tortured and raped before they killed her? Will we ever find out? The two UTK officers who have been charged with the hideous crime - Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar and Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri - were personal bodyguards to defence minister Najib Razak. So under whose specific orders were they acting?

In any case, the only reason Altantuya's body was blown up in the jungle was so that it would never be found - at least not in one piece. Somebody extremely powerful had instructed an immigration officer to delete all computer records of Altantuya Shaariibuu's arrivals and departures from Malaysia. When her cousin lodged a police report that Altantuya had disappeared, a massive search would have been initiated. After which a government spokesman would have told the media that the immigration department had no record of the Mongolian woman arriving in Malaysia. There would be insinuations that Altantuya Shaariibuu did not, in fact, exist - and that her "cousin" was perhaps mentally unsound, possibly paranoiac, and had concocted the story of Altantuya's vanishing act in order to attract attention.

So why did the gruesome story make the front pages on local dailies nearly three weeks after the fictitious Mongolian woman was murdered? Who would have known about the jungle explosion in the middle of the night in the middle of literally nowhere?

I was told by a friend with connections to the legal fraternity that it was an Orang Asli family that reported the blast between October 19 and 20. Altantuya's killers must have killed her and then taken her body to a spot well-known to Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri (who had boasted to Abdul Razak Baginda that he had terminated at least six people "in the line of duty"). Nobody was supposed to hear the explosion that would remove all evidence of Altantuya Shaariibuu's earthly existence. Apparently, unbeknownst to the killers, a few Orang Asli were encamped in the vicinity and were startled by the blast. They investigated the next morning and, realizing that a crime had been committed, lodged a report at the nearest Balai Polis. Thus far I have found no way to confirm this detail. After Googling the case for hours, not one single reference to the Orang Asli factor. If anybody can confirm this, will you please contact me or leave a comment below this post?

I would like to know for certain that it was indeed the Orang Asli who blew the lid on this macabre and malevolent affair. It would be the ultimate irony, if this was true, that the "highest and mightiest" in the land would ultimately be brought down by the humblest of the humble.

[First published 26 April 2008. Reposted 23 August 2013, 17 October 2014 & 22 January 2015]

Amina Describes Her Ordeal (Reprise)

On 8 November 2006 The Star headlines read: "Bone fragments of model found on hill." Eleven years down the line the key figures behind the gruesome murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu have yet to be investigated for their complicity in this high-profile crime of mind-boggling proportions, involving billions of ringgit worth of military spending and kickbacks - and implicating those now enthroned in the highest positions. Not only is the Malaysian government guilty of a massive cover-up, so also are all of us who choose to ignore the rotting elephant carcass in our living rooms....

[From a statutory declaration dated 1 July 2008, signed by Balasubramaniam a/l Perumal, private investigator...]

On Oct 19, 2006, I arrived at Abdul Razak Baginda’s house in Damansara Heights to begin my night duty. I had parked my car outside as usual. I saw a yellow Proton Perdana taxi pass by with three ladies inside, one of whom was Amina. The taxi did a U-turn and stopped in front of the house where these ladies rolled down the window and wished me ‘Happy Deepavali.’ The taxi then left.

About 20 minutes later the taxi returned with only Amina in it. She got out of the taxi and walked towards me and started talking to me. I sent an SMS to Abdul Razak Baginda informing him “Amina was here.” I received an SMS from Razak instructing me “to delay her until my man comes.”

Whist I was talking to Amina, she informed me of the following:

i) That she met Abdul Razak Baginda in Singapore with Najib Razak.

ii) That she had also met Abdul Razak Baginda and Najib Razak at a dinner in Paris.

iii) That she was promised a sum of US$500,000.00 as commission for assisting in a submarine deal in Paris.

iv) That Abdul Razak Baginda had bought her a house in Mongolia but her brother had refinanced it and she needed money to redeem it.

v) That her mother was ill and she needed money to pay for her treatment.

vi) That Abdul Razak Baginda had married her in Korea as her mother is Korean whilst her father was a Mongolian/Chinese mix.

vii) That if I wouldn’t allow her to see Abdul Razak Baginda, would I be able to arrange for her to see Najib Razak.

After talking to Amina for about 15 minutes, a red Proton Aeroback arrived with a woman and two men. I now know the woman to be lance corporal Rohaniza and the men, Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azahar. They were all in plainclothes. Azilah walked towards me while the other two stayed in the car.

Azilah asked me whether the woman was Amina and I said “Yes”. He then walked off and made a few calls on his handphone. After 10 minutes another vehicle, a blue Proton Saga, driven by a Malay man, passed by slowly. The driver's window had been wound down and the driver was looking at us.

Azilah then informed me they would be taking Amina away. I informed Amina they were arresting her. The other two persons then got out of the red Proton and exchanged seats so that lance corporal Rohaniza and Amina were in the back while the two men were in the front. They drove off and that is the last I ever saw of Amina.

I don't know where they are taking me. At first I thought they would take me to the police station and question me, but we seem to be going away from the city. Maybe they are taking me to the airport and throwing me out of the country. More than half an hour later the car enters a gated driveway leading to a double-storey bungalow in a big garden. It's a very quiet area and I have no idea where I am. I feel very worried about the situation, but I try my best to look calm.

One of the men tells the lady something in Malay and she nods and returns to the car. The men then push me inside the house and force me to go upstairs. I am beginning to feel frightened, because this is definitely not a police station. What will they do to me?

One man opens a bedroom door and the other pushes me inside. I fear they may try to rape me as we appear to be alone in this big house. The men ask me for my handbag and they take away my watch, cellphone and jewelry. Then they push me inside a big empty wardrobe and shut the door. It is very dark and musty inside and I hear a key turning in the wardrobe door. I hear the men's voices discussing something, then they leave the room, and I am alone in the total darkness. I can hear my heart pounding very loudly. The sound of traffic from a great distance tells me we are quite far from the city.

I have no sense of time. I may have dozed off after an hour, I can't be sure. My stomach is growling, so it must be long after dinner time. I feel stiff and uncomfortable and my bladder is ready to burst. Amy must be wondering why I am not back at the hotel yet. I hope she will call Ang to enquire about me at the police station. That Razak is a coward. He dare not face me. Instead he has asked the police to kidnap me....

There are voices in the room and a key turns. The wardrobe door opens and I see several figures as my eyes adjust to the light. They are wearing black hoods and I can see only their eyes - but two of them are women. I am dragged out roughly and pushed to the floor. Now I am really scared. These people are dangerous, they are not behaving like police officers at all, more like members of a secret society.

While one of the hooded men lifts me off the floor, the large woman is shouting angrily at me, calling me all kinds of names. Suddenly she steps forward and slaps me very hard across the face - again and again and again - while my arms are held tight by the men. Tears sting my raw cheeks and I tell her stop but she keeps hitting me and spitting in my face.

She calls me a dirty prostitute and says I deserve to die. I don't know who this woman is but she is totally crazy, like a demon. Sometimes she shouts at me in English and then she says something in Malay. The other woman steps forward and tears the front of my dress with great force. She pulls off my bra and gags me with it, and then she yanks down my panties, so they are around my ankles.

The men push me to the floor and take turns raping me. One tries to sodomize me but gives up and forces himself into my mouth instead. I bite him and he screams in pain and hits my head very hard, till I almost lose consciousness. This is a horrible nightmare. It can't be happening to me! Who are these insane people? They can't be policemen! They are monsters! I can hear the large woman laughing like a witch...

Suddenly I am looking at the scene from somewhere above. My body is badly bruised and almost numb with shock. It's a strange feeling, to feel so detached from my body. I feel no anger. Only sadness and pity for my attackers who are so depraved they are no longer human. I know I will never see my family and friends again, because these people intend to kill me.

I am back in my body and it hurts all over. The woman is mercilessly beating me with a cane and kicking me while the others stand back. She keeps whacking my genitals until I feel nothing... then I am thankfully out of my body again.

I watch my unconscious body being carried downstairs. They tape my mouth shut and tie my hands and feet tight with plastic rope. Then they throw me into the back of a 4-wheel-drive and slam the door shut. The vehicle drives off, followed by two other cars.

After a long time the 4-wheel-drive stops and a few people climb into it. The road is very bad and bumpy but I am hovering close to my body, observing everything that happens. There is no more sound of traffic. We must be in the jungle somewhere because all I can hear are insects chirping loudly, and heavy breathing as my body is placed on a stretcher and carried by two men along a jungle path.

When they finally stop and put down the stretcher I hear the woman's voice again. Cold water is thrown on my face and I return to my body with a jerk. Slowly I try to open my eyes but I can't focus on anything because it is very dark, except for the flashlights carried by a few of my abductors. The woman's voice is very close to my ear as she hisses: "So long, Amina. Lovely to meet you at last. Have a pleasant journey." She laughs grotesquely and rips off the tape covering my mouth. "I want to hear you scream. Do you have any last words... dear Amina?" She has removed her hood so I can see her face. It's a very cruel face indeed. The others are not wearing hoods but I don't know who they are. The large woman is obviously their boss.

Out of the corner of my eye I catch the metallic gleam of a gun near my face and I know this is the end of my story. I gather my strength and say as calmly and clearly as possible, so they will hear every word: "You are evil people. I curse you forever. You will never know peace again." I feel myself transforming into a mother wolf, ready to pounce in defence of her cubs...

Then I hear a click and there is blinding flash. I am floating ten feet above my twitching body. After a while I see someone attaching something to my now lifeless body. I cannot believe they intend to blow up my corpse with explosives, so nobody will ever find my bones!


I look up and see a beautiful blue sky. The sun shines brilliantly over the distant mountains. I can hear voices singing in overtones the ancient melodies of the great steppes where my ancestors hunted and fought their battles. Suddenly I am flying like an eagle over the rugged landscape that feels so familiar. I am free as a bird and I am home at last.

[First published 19 October 2008. Reposted 8 November 2011 & 19 October 2014]

11 years on, Altantuya's bigwig killers stay elusive to the law but we all know who they are! (updated)

The three accused arriving at court (photo: AFP)

Despite a detailed confession of pre-meditated murder from Sirul Azhar bin Haji Umar (IC No: RF12559) recorded in Police Report No: 7380/06 on 9 November 2006 at 1635 hrs by Inspector Nom Phot a/l Prack Dit, the Court of Appeal on 23 August 2013 decided to let both Sirul Azhar and his instigator Capt. Azilah Hadri walk free.

Sirul Azhar (left) & Azilah Hadri 

It has been established that Capt. Azilah Hadri was from the elite UTK (Special Operations Unit of the Royal Malaysian Police) and had served as personal bodyguard to then defence minister and deputy prime minister Najib Razak. He was summoned by Najib’s ADC and security chief, DSP Musa Safri, after Abdul Razak Baginda reported to his close friend and biggest client Najib Razak, that he was being harassed relentlessly by a very determined Mongolian woman demanding her share of a RM540 million kickback from a top secret French submarine deal.

Sirul Azhar stated in his police statement that he was recruited by Azilah to assist in “taking care” of a nuisance named Aminah alias Altantuya Shaariibuu. He even added that a cash reward of RM50,000 –100,000 was involved. I doubt Sirul knew who had made the offer, and even if he did, whatever name he mentioned would have been deleted from his statement by police officers eager to protect the VVIPs in Umno Baru.

'Taken care' of at least 6 others

The third accused in the gruesome murder trial was Abdul Razak Baginda who submitted a sworn affidavit to the effect that he had briefed Capt. Azilah Hadri on the problem of Altantuya. Razak Baginda said Capt. Azilah had assured him he was quite up to the task, even boasting that he had previously “taken care” of at least six others.

Nobody in their right mind would confess to cold-blooded murder - more so when the victim is unknown to them and happens to be a pretty woman given the brush-off by some well-heeled and politically connected casanova. Altantuya was obviously not a hardcore criminal. Who would have had the heart to shoot her twice in the head point blank even as she was pleading for her life – and that of her unborn child? Whatever crime she might have committed, blackmail for example, she deserved her day in court. Every policeman knows that – or should in any case.

Altantuya Shaariibuu in Europe with Razak Baginda

However, Capt. Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar weren’t ordinary cops. They were commandos with the UTK, trained as crack sharpshooters and willing to carry out orders without question. Whose orders? Surely they would not obey Abdul Razak Baginda – a mere civilian, albeit one with political clout? The orders had to come from a superior police officer, in this instance Najib Razak’s ADC, former DSP Musa Safri, who has since been promoted and transferred to a different state.

Political masters must take the ultimate responsibility

"Could do with more kickback"

Why was Musa Safri never called as a witness during the trial, which ran a record 159 days? He was security chief and ADC to Najib Razak and Rosmah Mansor. Whatever action he took would have been at their behest, in the interest of their personal security. DSP Musa Safri was clearly a loyal servant to his political masters. They are ones who must accept ultimate responsibility for the actions of their loyal servants – particularly if these actions involved abduction and cold-blooded murder, topped by the use of military-grade plastic explosives to destroy evidence of a dead body carrying an unborn child.

We must not forget that somebody in the Immigration Department deliberately deleted from the computer database all entry records of Altantuya Shaariibuu and her companions. Who would have the authority to order such a criminal act? In October 2006 when the drama unfolded the Ministry of Home Affairs (which controls the Immigration Department) had recently been restructured and, although Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad was nominally in charge, it was a period of confusion without clear lines of command.

There must be someone very high in the power hierarchy to accomplish these grievous misdeeds without a hitch (almost). Who does all the evidence point to? Who is the common denominator in this complex web of intrigue?

Was Rosmah really not at the scene? Or was she?

Altantuya Shaariibuu (6 May 1978 – 20 October 2006)

Abdul Razak Baginda had friends in powerful places but maintained a relatively low public profile. He had little to lose except his reputation if his sordid affair with Altantuya became public knowledge - apart from facing the wrath of his wife, Mazlinda Makhzan (a director in the company involved with the submarine deal). Even if this scandal resulted in an investigation by the MACC, it would have been a routine matter to get the case closed after the excitement had subsided.

Same goes for the uniformed personnel involved in the case. Musa Safri may have been guilty of abetting a serious crime, but as a typical Malay police officer whose loyalty to his Tuan Besar superseded his duty as a public servant, he would have received a measure of sympathy had he confessed his role and cleared the path for justice to be served. Capt. Azilah and Sirul were clearly implicated, via Sirul’s confession as well as the detailed statutory declaration signed by private investigator Balasubramaniam a/l Perumal. However, their role was essentially to carry out somebody else’s dirty work.

Raja Petra Kamarudin

In a statutory declaration signed on 18 June 2008 by Raja Petra Kamarudin (the controversial blogger and editor of newsportal Malaysia Today better known as RPK), several others were implicated in the sensational murder. Indeed, RPK’s declaration revealed that Najib’s ambitious wife Rosmah Mansor may have been at the murder scene, along with two high-ranking officers attached to the defence ministry’s engineering corps, Lt Kol, Abdul Aziz Buyong and his wife Lt Kol. Norhayati Hassan, both experts in the use of C4 explosives. RPK claimed he had been given this shocking information by a senior Military Intelligence officer.

RPK subsequently retracted his statutory declaration in April 2011 in a heavily edited interview with TV3, a government-friendly station, explaining that he cannot be certain if what he heard was actually true. His excuse was that he felt it was his duty as a citizen to make public what he had been told in confidence. Others saw it as a clue that RPK might have been instigated into filing his June 2008 declaration by factions focused on derailing Najib Razak’s prime ministerial aspirations.

Who has been leaking the info?

Within Umno Baru there are many who would like to see Najib Razak and his influential wife removed from the game – and the Altantuya scandal serves as the perfect weapon.

Three names immediately spring to mind: Mahathir Mohamad, whose primary goal is to ensure that his youngest son, Mukhriz, eventually becomes prime minister; Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who has been eyeing the PM’s post since the mid-1980s; and Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib’s erstwhile deputy, who certainly wouldn’t mind a shot at taking over as Top Gun (or at least seeing the man who fired him forced to step down).

While an in-depth inquiry into the Altantuya murder would have revealed the fact that the Scorpene submarine scam was first mooted in 2002, during Mahathir’s tenure, Najib Razak would definitely be implicated as he was then Mahathir’s defence minister.

Abdul Razak Baginda, according to P.I. Bala’s explosive statutory declaration of 3 July 2008, had been introduced to Altantuya Shaariibuu by his buddy Najib Razak at a diamond expo in Singapore. In an unguarded moment, Razak Baginda had confided to his private eye that Najib could not afford a major scandal after being appointed deputy prime minister, only one step from the top. So he wanted Razak Baginda to take over the role of sugar daddy to his high-maintenance Mongolian paramour.

It is public knowledge that Najib Razak has always had an eye for beautiful women. This weakness is every public figure’s Achilles’ Heel – especially in a political jungle acrawl with hidden predators and a culture supercharged with hypocrisy and false piety.

Hotbed of intrigue

Dr Shaariibuu Setev, father of the murdered girl

With such colossal amounts of money involved, Umno Baru qualifies as a hotbed of intrigue. Parry and thrust, bribery and threat, playing one faction against another – these are par for the course in our benighted political milieu. Nobody wants to risk losing everything, so marriages of convenience, cynical pragmatism, and political trade-offs become the norm. Who cares about the truth? It’s all a matter of perception anyhow, and that’s where the professional spin-doctors come in. Who cares about justice? It can be bought and sold if you have deep pockets.

Umno Baru has sunk up to its tall songkok in a quagmire of deceit and a conspiracy of silence. While some may be happy to see Najib and Rosmah brought down and taken off the game board, there are others who fear losing power completely in the event of an ugly leadership tussle. They would rather serve a tainted leader who can offer them perks – than a clean one who might immediately sack them for incompetence and greed.

A nation that closes its eye to cold-blooded murder

In happier days: Altantuya with her firstborn

And so, eleven years after her cruel and unnecessary death at the hands of ruthless mobsters posing as the government of Malaysia, Altantuya Shaariibuu’s ghost has yet to be appeased. The deafening silence surrounding this nightmarish episode reveals a conspiracy at the highest levels of power – and the entire Barisan Nasional federal government is, in fact, guilty of complicity in first-degree murder.

Since the government is supposed to represent the whole nation, every Malaysian will suffer the same curse – until we reclaim our collective conscience and our pride as citizens of a nation gone horribly wrong. Is that what we deserve after 60 years of nationhood – to be seen as a gigantic crime syndicate of congenital liars, hypocrites, thieves, rapists, and murderers?

[From Malaysia Chronicle, 28 October 2013. First posted 13 January 2014, reposted 18 October 2014 & 11 August 2015]

Chain of command: Sirul Azhar's statement recorded on 9 November 2006

Sirul Azhar Statement

Written by Our Correspondent

FRIDAY, 20 MARCH 2009

Report No : 7380/06 Station : Travers Name : Sirul Azhar bin Haji Umar IC No : RF125591 Race : Malay Date/Place of Birth : 29-1-1971 Age : 35 years male Occupation : Police officer Address of workplace : UTK, Bukit Aman Name of father : Haji Omar bin Haji Hassan Address of father : Deceased Recording Officers : Insp Nom Phot a/l Prack Dit at Office D6, 3rd Floor, Bukit Aman on 9th November 2006 at 1307 afternoon. On 19th (sic) November 2006 I was asked by the investigating officer K/ASP Tony Anak Lunggan to record the statement of a Malay inmate named Sirul Azhar Bin Haji Omar Kp RF 125591. The inmate was then brought to me and I ordered the release of his handcuffs. I then interviewed the inmate who appeared to be proficient in Malay. I also found the inmate in good health. I then read out the warning under Section 113(1)(a)(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code to the inmate as follows ;- IT IS MY RESPONSIBILTIY TO WARN YOU THAT YOU ARE NOT OBLIGED TO SAY ANYTHING OR TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. BUT WHATEVER YOU SAY WHETHER IN ANSWER TO A QUESTION OR NOT SHALL BE GIVEN AS A STATEMENT. S. Do you understand the warning that has been read and explained to you? J. Yes I understand. S. Do you have any questions about the warning? J. No. S. Do you want to give a statement? J. Yes I want to give a statement. S. What do you want to tell me? J. As a member of the Special Action Unit (UTK) on an undetermined date 5 or 6 days before the incident on 19thOctober 2006 while I was in my office I received a telephone call from Tuan Azilah (Azilah) the officer above me requesting that I meet him in Central market. I could not meet him at the time because I was together with Tuan Khairy as his driver. At that time, I was driving Tuan Khairy to deliver hampers in Selayanga and Batu Caves. On my way to there roughly after 12 noon I received another call from Azilah who asked me where I was and I told Azilah I may be late coming back as I was assisting an officer and I replied I would call him back after completing my duties. At around 3.00pm, after dropping off the officer at the office in Bukit Aman, Azilah telephoned me again and told me to meet him in Central Market. At about 3.15pm I met Azilah at Central Market. He instructed me to observe Malaya Hotel where the woman who was disturbing the businessman [sic] stayed. Azilah also informed me there were three women staying in a room on the 8th floor, the number of which I am unable to recollect. After that I went together with Azilah in my car, a Satria bearing registration number WEA 4717 to look for Malaya Hotel. On the way there, Azilah talked about a reward of between RM50,000 and RM100,000 if the case was settled. Azilah and I however failed to locate the hotel after circling the area many times. After failing to locate the hotel, Azilah and I returned to Central Market and while we were there, Azilah asked an artist at Central Market for directions to Malaya Hotel. The artist, who was Malay, drew a plan of the location of Malaya Hotel . After that Azilah and I walked towards Malaya Hotel. We reached Malaya Hotel at 4.00pm. When we arrived at Malaya Hotel, Azilah invited me to go to the 8th floor of the hotel. After we reached the 8th floor Azilah showed me the room that was occupied by the woman who was disturbing Razak. While on the 8th floor, Azilah asked me to "shoot to kill" all three women in the hotel room and asked that I stay in any one of the rooms on the 8th or 7th floor or any other floor with all lodging expenses borne by Azilah. I informed Azilah that I would not be able to do it because of the presence of CCTV (closed circuit television cameras). [Read the full statement here.]