The Tunku once described himself as “the happiest prime minister” when he was interviewed in 1983, by Peter Hastings, the foreign editor of the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH).
Today, as we read about Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, and the tactics used against the rakyat, NGOs, civil liberty groups and the opposition, we see a man who resorts to foul play, even breaking the law if necessary, to prolong his political career and that of his party, Umno.
Perhaps, what the Tunku possessed and what his successors lack is a sense of humour. Behind the calm purpose of his jokes, Tunku was able to show his spirit of tolerance.
Tunku laughed when Hastings reminded him of the time an Islamic group had sought the Tunku’s support for adulterers to be stoned to death and he had replied: “There are not enough stones in Malaysia.”
In his biography, ‘Tunku: His Life and Times’, the Tunku is described as looking resplendent in his morning coat and top hat, when he posed with Think Big, the race horse which won the Melbourne Cup in 1975. Just before he went up to receive the winner’s trophy, Tunku swopped his top hat for a black songkok and as the cup was placed in his hands, said: “I thank God for our victory”, a phrase which he repeated later that night at the Victory Cup Ball.
Those who knew Tunku would remember that most of his dinners ended-up on the dance-floor. He revived the Ronggeng (a Malay dance) and foreign dignitaries were invited to dance with their Malay hostesses. With this method, he succeeded in diplomacy, both foreign and domestic, something which would be impossible to replicate in today’s intolerant Malaysia.
The current crop of Malay leaders would never dare emulate Tunku by pursuing their hobbies openly, or even attribute gambling successes to God. They’d rather lie, for the sake of political expediency.
Many Malays of today are two-faced. The pious façade they present to the public is only to advance themselves in politics or to gain commercial advantage. It is widely known that prominent Malays including high-ranking members of the civil service, including the judiciary and police, have private poker sessions. The only time they don’t hide from the public eye, is when they are abroad.
So, why is gaming in casinos and betting on horses prohibited, but corruption allowed? Why should politicians be allowed to play Russian roulette with taxpayer’s money but individual Malays prevented from gambling with their own money?
In the SMH interview, Tunku was asked his views on the Look East policy of the prime minister of the time, Mahathir Mohamad. Tunku said: “Look east? Why should I? I have always liked to look in all directions.” ‘I like people to be happy’
At a birthday party in Kuala Lumpur in 1987, Tunku abandoned his prepared text and towards the end of his speech repeated his scorn for Mahathir: “Whether we look East or West, we shall always be friends with England.”
Tunku told Hastings (SMH) about the influence of the Islamic traditionalists and drinking mores of the Malaysian politicians of the 80s: “It is changing. I used to provide scotch, brandy and champagne at my banquets. The people did not mind. They are tolerant, but Tun Razak, my successor, never liked it. He feared the political consequences. I like people to be happy.”
The Tunku comes across as a normal human being, one the rakyat feels comfortable with. He did not hide behind the veil of hypocrisy, unlike his successors.
Perhaps, the Tunku’s “what you see is what you get” attitude endeared him to the public, rather than the sham public face which many of his successors wear.
When Tunku was advised to stop drinking alcohol at one of the earlier Umno meetings, he said: “People must accept me as I am: my bad habits and my virtues. At the age of 48, I cannot change them.”
Like other prominent Malay families, Tunku sent his daughter to study as a boarder at the Light Street Convent in Penang. Today, church halls have to remove crucifixes and other emblems of Christianity when Umno leaders are present. Umno expects people of other faiths to respect Muslims and Islam, but thinks nothing of trampling on the rights of other faiths, or accusing them of taking over the country, simply to rile the Malays.
Mahathir exploited the vulnerability of the Malays and gave the Umno Malays legal protection, in the same way that wildlife organisations protect endangered plants and animals. Mahathir made it an offence for anyone to threaten the Umno Malays by changing the environmental, or other parameters, in which the Umno Malays would thrive.
Two weeks ago, Najib argued that successful Malaysian women risked making men “an endangered species”. He is wrong. What he meant was that Umno Malays are the world’s most protected species.
Didn’t Mahathir and Najib learn in school, that if you take an animal from the wild and domesticate it, the animal soon forgets to fend for itself?
Bred in captivity
Successive generations of Umno Malays have been bred in captivity and have become dependent on the food from their keeper. If released into their natural settings, Umno Malays will die. Like most caged animals, they have become lazy and obese. Their mental processes deteriorate because they lack the stimuli necessary for survival. Umno Malays could be weaned off their bad habits, but Umno will never allow that to happen.
If the zookeepers (Umno leaders) have no animals (Umno Malays) to take care of, then they are out of a job.
In today’s Malaysia, the fund for maintaining the Umno zoo is running low. The keepers have siphoned off most of the takings from the zoo. With food stocks running low, portions are small and feeding is erratic. The animals are distressed. They have been used to large meals, at any time of day, not just at feeding times.
These are dangerous times. The animals are waiting to pounce. One wrong move and the keeper becomes their next meal. Those of us watching from outside the cage would then be happiest. If Umno Malays refuse to be mentally liberated now, they run the risk of extinction.
MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In ‘real-speak', this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.
[Published 15 October 2012 in Malaysiakini. Posted here 16 October. Thanks, Mariam! You are indeed a precious gem.]
Shot, then blown to smithereens with military grade explosives, the 2006 killing of Altantuya Shaariibuu was one of Malaysia’s most sensational murder cases. Even though years have passed since the young Mongolian woman’s death, it is one case that has refused to disappear. If anything, the mystery has deepened.
101 East investigates those who were involved in the case and asks whether the two men convicted of her murder are “fall guys” for others who ordered the killing of Shaariibuu.
I maintain my innocence of this foul charge - this incident never happened. This is complete fabrication - coming from a political conspiracy to stop my political career.
You have not given proper consideration to the case presented by my counsel from day one - that this incident never happened at all.
But instead you chose to remain on the dark side and drown your morals and your scruples in a sea of falsehood and subterfuge. Know you not that you are now wallowing in filth and foulness and the stench of your injustice will permeate through every nook and cranny of this so-called Palace of Justice and I do pity you all.
I can go on and on but I see from your statement today that it will be fruitless - it appears as I have been condemned again as I was in the court of appeal. only here we went through a facade of an eight day hearing.
It is not a coincidence how the PM was able to release a full written statement on your decision barely minutes after you handed your judgment today even before sentencing.
In bowing to the dictates of the political masters, you have become partners in crime for the murder of judicial independence and integrity. You have sold your souls to the devil, bartering your conscience for material gain and comfort and security of office.
You had the best opportunity to redeem yourselves – to right the wrongs of the past and put the judiciary on a clean slate and carve your names for posterity as true defenders of justice.
Yes, you have passed judgement on me – and I will, again for the third time, walk into prison but rest assured my head will be held high. The light shines on me.
But the shame is on you for you will be judged by history as the great cowards of humanity. Sitting on that high horse of judicial power, you have stooped so low to become the underlings of the political masters.
Students of law and professors of jurisprudence will scrutinize your judgments and as they dissect your reasoning and your decision, your credibility and integrity will be torn to tatters. And you will be exposed as the fraudsters who don the robe of judicial power only to pervert the course of justice.
Umno lawyer Shafee Abdullah, appointed by fiat to lead the prosecution against Anwar
Do not forget that, as all of us will have to, you too will have to answer to your maker. You will have to answer why you turned your backs on the principles that you had so solemnly sworn to uphold.
People who come into your court have to bow their heads and address you as ‘My Lords’ but don’t you know that you too will have to answer to your Lord one day? By then you will need more than bowing and prostration to justify why you willfully transgressed Allah’s command as ordained in Surah an-Nisaa, verse 58:
Indeed, Allah commands you to render trusts to whom they are due and when you judge between people to judge with justice. Excellent is that which Allah instructs you. Indeed, Allah is ever Hearing and Seeing.
Going to jail, I consider a sacrifice I make for the people of this country.
I have fought most of my life on behalf of the people of this country - for the people I am willing to go to jail or face any other consequence.
My struggle will continue, wherever I am sent and whatever is done to me.
To my friends and fellow Malaysians let me thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the support you have given me. And Allah is my witness. I pledge and I will not be silenced, I will fight on for freedom and justice - and I will never surrender!
Padang Timur, Petaling Jaya, 25 May 2013, around 6:45PM
As dusk fell so did a gentle rain...
... but the crowd came prepared & stayed put!
Enterprising young man does a brisk trade with rally paraphernalia
Does the sign read "Reformasi" in Chinese?
Alongside the festive atmosphere, a grim determination to reclaim the nation
Student leader Safwan Anang in training for a promising career
What a neo-Nazi criminal regime fears most: a Malaysian Spring of hope!
Election Commission heads MUST roll!
Badrul Hisham Shaharin @ Chegubard: an inspiring reformer
Never before have Malaysians been so united...
... against the real enemy of the people, a corrupt kleptocratic elite!
Most stayed till late to welcome Ambiga, Tian Chua, Haris & Anwar
Before the rally dispersed, the floodlights dimmed...
... turning the event into a beautiful manifestation of hope, optimism & light!
LIVE REPORTS
11.45pm - After seven hours, the Suara Rakyat 505 rally came to a close with everyone singing Negaraku. Prior to that, emcee Badrul Hisham Shaharin says he needs 500,000 volunteers for an event he called "March to EC", hinting that there are far bigger rallies being planned.
11.20pm - In a show of humility, Anwar Ibrahim tells the crowd that he is sorry that Pakatan Rakyat was not able to form the federal government.
"So some of our plans can't be implemented because of that," he said.
Regardless, Anwar (left) says that Pakatan will never give up and that it was BN who should be accepting defeat.
He says that the White House had congratulated Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak with a condition: That the polls must be free and fair.
"That's why the EC must resign now! Now! Now!" he said.
He said that Monday is the last day for the public to lodge police reports on electoral fraud and urge them to do so, particularly over the fact that "indelible ink" was removable.
He added that there will be a few more Black 505 rallies left.
"Do we go on or stop here?" he asks, to which the crowd replied "Go on!".
He then promises that any mobilisation of the people will be done peacefully.
11.05pm - Emcee Badrul Hisham Shaharin has called for the Dataran PJ floodlamps to be switched off and for rally participants to whip out their phones and lighters to light up the venue.
The idea is to celebrate the release of Adam Adli, a student activist accused by the state of sedition. He is Penang now to visit his ailing mother.
"We will shine a path for democracy," he said, while estimating that the crowd size has now swelled to 70,000.
The crowd oblige and the wave their electronic devices. Looks like a swarm of fireflies.
10.45pm - Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar (left) says that the Election Commission must pay for their "crimes".
"You can never escape the clutches of the law," she said.
She said Pakatan had scored a moral victory on May 5 but the coalition and their supporters still have much to do.
"Tough times don't last. Tough people do," she said.
She adds that Pakatan will continue to mobilise the public to ensure that BN doesn't get its way when the electoral boundaries are re-drawn.
10.40pm - Haris Ibrahim urges the crowd to boycott media organisations that are lopsided or aligned to BN.
Following this, he announced that the Asalkan Bukan Umno group has prepared a video clip to show how BN had cheated during the general election.
"We want you to bring this video to the rural areas, to show how they were being cheated by BN," said Haris.
10.30pm - After sharing a cell in Jinjang, Tian Chua (left) and Haris Ibrahim share the stage together.
"Don't think that these arrests will scare the people. We will not be cowed.
"It is not us that are afraid. It is they, for they are holding to power without legitimacy," said Chua.
10.20pm - Bersih 2.0 co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan says she was not scheduled to speak today but the recent arrest of Adam Adli, Tian Chua, Haris Ibrahim and Tamrin Ghaffar had moved her to do so.
He urges those with evidence of electoral fraud to approach Bersih's people's tribunal.
"If the EC has any dignity left, they must resign now. (The failure of the) indelible ink is reason enough," she said.
10.15pm - In a strange move, Kuala Kerai MP Dr Hatta Ramli and Sungai Petani MP Johari Abdul decided to speak at the same time.
But it was Hatta who stole the show with his wisecracks.
He said that BN was no so worried about a certain word and have asked the Multimedia and Communication Commission (MCMC) to investigate politicians who mention it.
"What is the word? The word is musim bunga. I dare not utter the word in English.
"What I got my car fixed, I couldn't tell the foreman to change my suspension. I had to say 'Please help me to change my musim bunga'," he quipped.
9.45pm - Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli (left) says there would not be enough jails for the government to incarcerate all those who voice out against electoral fraud.
Rafizi, who chairs Pakatan's committee to probe electoral fraud, says that people have lost confidence in the EC because the have broken their vows.
"If the rakyat says there is fraud, isn't it their duty to investigate?" asks Rafizi. He says that Pakatan will be filing about 29 election petitions and strongly hinted that Bersih 4.0 might involve occupying Dataran Merdeka.
9.30pm - The Dataran PJ field has now reached saturation point. Emcee Badrul Hisham Shaharin (right) announces that there are 50,000 people in attendance.
9.25pm - Blues singer Ito, from the Blues Gang fame, belts out "Ubah Sekarang" to which the crowd responds by waving their hands in unison.
9.20pm - Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh (left in photo) is speaking now and she said that the Election Commission chairperson Abdul Aziz Yusoff is living off public funds.
She says that his wages will not be "halal" if the EC continues to disregard public opinion.
9.10pm: Badrul Hisham Shaharin, aka Chegubard, takes over as the emcee and introduces DAP's Ronnie Liu onto the stage.
"We need to reform the electoral system. If not, we won't make it to Putrajaya.
"I believe it is time we launch Bersih 4.0!" he said, to the crowd's approval.
9pm: As the rally continues, the crowd size had doubled to approximately 20,000.
8.15pm - The sky is threatening to open up on the crowd and is serving up a slight drizzle. Many people are sporting umbrellas.
7.30pm - Crowd size has grown to 10,000, which is much smaller than anticipated by the organisers.
7.15pm - Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) chief Badrul Hisham Shaharin, better known as Chegubard, takes the stage and urge participants to call on their friends to join the rally.
"Tonight, we will be joined by the reformasi 'tank' - Tian Chua! Then there's another person, whom before we had a chance to invite him told us that he will join us - Haris Ibrahim!" announced Badrul Hisham.
Chua, Haris and Tamrin Abdul Ghaffar are being investigated for making seditious speeches during a forum on May 13. Another speaker at the forum, Adam Adli, has already been charged for sedition. All four are expected to speak tonight.
Badrul Hisham (left), who is believed to be wanted by the police for making "seditious speeches" alongside the abovementioned group, also announced that PKR strategist Rafizi Ramli will be presenting a slideshow later to show examples of electoral fraud.
Meanwhile, Badrul Hisham said the main objective of the rally is to campaign for reform in the electoral system.
After Badrul Shaharin spoke, there is a short break for mahgrib prayers.
6.45pm - Student activist KS Bawani (right), of the "Listen, listen, listen" fame, urges participants to "incite" their friends and relatives to join the rally.
“We had said before the general election that if the EC cheats, we will go down the street, this is the right of the people.
“We don't want to talk anymore. We've had enough. The people are not stupid, we don't want to wait for another five years.
“We don't have much time, we need to incite more people. Please tell your uncles and aunties to come to Amcorp Mall,” she says.
Uploaded 12 March 2013, three days before Bala died of an apparent heart attack at his home in Rawang. As a gesture of respect for the man's courage in confronting power with truth, I reproduce below his sensational statutory declaration of 3 July 2008...
"NAJIB INTRODUCED ALTANTUYA TO BAGINDA" - P.I. Balasubramaniam (Courtesy of Malaysiakini.tv, 3 July 2008) Malaysiakini | Jul 3, 08 | 2:01pm
The following is the full 16-page statutory declaration signed by Abdul Razak Baginda's private investigor P. Balasubramaniam on July 1 2008.
I, Balasubramaniam a/l Perumal ... do solemly and sincerely declare as follows:
1. I have been a police officer with the Royal Malaysian Police Force, having joined as a constable in 1981 attached to the police field force. I was then promoted to the rank of lance corporal and finally resigned from the police force in 1998 when I was with the Special Branch.
2. I have been working as a freelance private investigator since I left the police force.
3. Sometime in June or July 2006, I was employed by Abdul Razak Baginda for a period of 10 days to look after him at his office at the Bangunan Getah Asli, Jalan Ampang between the hours of 8am to 5pm each working day as apparently he was experiencing disturbances from a third party.
4. I resigned from this job after 2½ days as I was not receiving any proper instructions.
5. I was however re-employed by Abdul Razak Baginda on the Oct 5, 2006 as he had apparently received a harassing phone call from a Chinese man calling himself ASP Tan who had threatened him to pay his debts. I later found out this gentleman was in fact a private investigator called Ang who was employed by a Mongolian woman called Altantuya Shaaribuu.
6. Abdul Razak Baginda was concerned that a person by the name of Altantuya Shaaribuu, a Mongolian woman, was behind this threat and that she would be arriving in Malaysia very soon to try and contact him.
7. Abdul Razak Baginda informed me that he was concerned by this as he had been advised that Altantuya Shaaribuu had been given some powers by a Mongolian ‘bomoh’ and that he could never look her in the face because of this.
8. When I enquired as to who this Mongolian woman was, Abdul Razak Baginda informed me that she was a friend of his who had been introduced to him by a VIP and who asked him to look after her financially.
9. I advised him to lodge a police report concerning the threatening phone call he had received from the Chinese man known as ASP Tan but he refused to do so as he informed me there were some high-profile people involved.
10. Abdul Razak Baginda further told me that Altantuya Shaaribuu was a great liar and good in convincing people. She was supposed to have been very demanding financially and that he had even financed a property for her in Mongolia.
11. Abdul Razak Baginda then let me listen to some voice messages on his handphone asking him to pay what was due otherwise he would be harmed and his daughter harassed.
12. I was therefore supposed to protect his daughter Rowena as well.
13. On Oct 9, 2006 I received a phone call from Abdul Razak Baginda at about 9.30am informing me that Altantuya was in his office and he wanted me there immediately. As I was in the midst of a surveillance, I sent my assistant Suras to Abdul Razak Baginda’s office and I followed a little later. Suras managed to control the situation and had persuaded Altantuya and her two friends to leave the premises. However Altantuya left a note written on some Hotel Malaya notepaper, in English, asking Abdul Razak Baginda to call her on her handphone (number given) and wrote down her room number as well.
14. Altantuya had introduced herself to Suras as ‘Aminah’ and had informed Suras she was there to see her boyfriend Abdul Razak Baginda.
15. These three Mongolian girls however returned to Abdul Razak Baginda’s office at the Bangunan Getah Asli, Jalan Ampang again, the next day at about 12 noon. They did not enter the building but again informed Suras that they wanted to meet Aminah’s boyfriend, Abdul Razak Baginda.
16. On Oct 11, 2006, Aminah returned to Abdul Razak Baginda’s office on her own and gave me a note to pass to him, which I did. Abdul Razak Baginda showed me the note which basically asked him to call her urgently.
17. I suggested to Abdul Razak Baginda that perhaps it may be wise to arrange for Aminah to be arrested if she harassed him further, but he declined as he felt she would have to return to Mongolia as soon as her cash ran out.
18. In the meantime, I had arranged for Suras to perform surveillance on Hotel Malaya to monitor the movements of these three Mongolian girls, but they recognised him. Apparently they become friends with Suras after that and he ended up spending a few nights in their hotel room.
19. When Abdul Razak Baginda discovered Suras was becoming close to Aminah he asked me to pull him out from Hotel Malaya.
20. On Oct 14, 2006, Aminah turned up at Abdul Razak Baginda’s house in Damansara Heights when I was not there. Abdul Razak Baginda called me on my handphone to inform me of this so I rushed back to his house. As I arrived, I noticed Aminah outside the front gates shouting “Razak, bastard, come out from the house”. I tried to calm her down but couldn’t, so I called the police who arrived in two patrol cars. I explained the situation to the police, who took her away to the Brickfields police station.
21. I followed the patrol cars to Brickfields police station in a taxi. I called Abdul Razak Baginda and his lawyer Dirren to lodge a police report but they refused.
22. When I was at the Brickfields police station, Aminah’s own private investigator, one Mr Ang arrived and we had a discussion. I was told to deliver a demand to Abdul Razak Baginda for US$500,000 and three tickets to Mongolia, apparently as commission owed to Aminah from a deal in Paris.
23. As Aminah had calmed down at this stage, a policewoman at the Brickfields police station advised me to leave and settle the matter amicably.
24. I duly informed Abdul Razak Baginda of the demands Aminah had made and told him I was disappointed that no one wanted to back me up in lodging a police report. We had a long discussion about the situation when I expressed a desire to pull out of this assignment.
25. During this discussion and in an attempt to persuade me to continue my employment with him, Abdul Razak Baginda informed me that:
i) He had been introduced to Aminah by Najib Razak at a diamond exhibition in Singapore.
ii) Najib Razak informed Abdul Razak Baginda that he had a sexual relationship with Aminah and that she was susceptible to anal intercourse.
iii) Najib Razak wanted Abdul Razak Baginda to look after Aminah as he did not want her to harass him since he was now the deputy prime minister.
iv) Najib Razak, Abdul Razak Baginda and Aminah had all been together at a dinner in Paris.
v) Aminah wanted money from him as she felt she was entitled to a US$500,000 commission on a submarine deal she assisted with in Paris.
26. 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 Aminah. 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.
27. About 20 minutes later the taxi returned with only Aminah 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 “Aminah was here”. I received an SMS from Razak instructing me “to delay her until my man comes”.
28. Whist I was talking to Aminah, 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.
29. After talking to Aminah 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.
30. Azilah asked me whether the woman was Aminah 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 drivers window had been wound down and the driver was looking at us.
31. Azilah then informed me they would be taking Aminah away. I informed Aminah they were arresting her. The other two persons then got out of the red Proton and exchanged seats so that lance corporal Rohaniza and Aminah were in the back while the two men were in the front. They drove off and that is the last I ever saw of Aminah.
32. Abdul Razak Baginda was not at home when all this occurred.
33. After Oct 19, 2006, I continued to work for Abdul Razak Baginda at his house in Damansara Heights from 7pm to 8am the next morning, as he had been receiving threatening text messages from a woman called ‘Amy’ who was apparently ‘Aminah’s’ cousin in Mongolia.
34. On the night of Oct 20, 2006, both of Aminah’s girlfriends turned up at Abdul Razak Baginda’s house enquiring where Aminah was. I informed them she had been arrested the night before.
35. A couple of nights later, these two Mongolian girls, Mr Ang and another Mongolian girl called ‘Amy’ turned up at Abdul Razak Baginda’s house looking for Aminah as they appeared to be convinced she was being held in the house.
36. A commotion began so I called the police who arrived shortly thereafter in a patrol car. Another patrol car arrived a short while later in which was the investigating officer from the Dang Wangi police station who was in charge of the missing persons report lodged by one of the Mongolians girls, I believe was Amy.
37. I called Abdul Razak Baginda who was at home to inform him of the events taking place at his front gate. He then called DSP Musa Safri and called me back informing me that Musa Safri would be calling my handphone and that I was to pass the phone to the inspector from Dang Wangi police station.
38. I then received a call on my handphone from Musa Safri and duly handed the phone to the Dang Wangi inspector. The conversation lasted 3-4 minutes after which he told the girls to disperse and to go to see him the next day.
39. On or about Oct 24, 2006, Abdul Razak Baginda instructed me to accompany him to the Brickfields police station as he had been advised to lodge a police report about the harassment he was receiving from these Mongolian girls.
40. Before this, Amy had sent me an SMS informing me she was going to Thailand to lodge a report with the Mongolian consulate there regarding Aminah’s disappearance. Apparently she had sent the same SMS to Abdul Razak Baginda. This is why he told me he had been advised to lodge a police report.
41. Abdul Razak Baginda informed me that DPS Musa Safri had introduced him to one DSP Idris, the head of the criminal division, Brickfields police station, and that Idris had referred him to ASP Tonny.
42. When Abdul Razak Baginda had lodged his police report at Brickfields police station, in front of ASP Tonny, he was asked to make a statement but he refused as he said he was leaving for overseas. He did however promise to prepare a statement and hand ASP Tonny a thumbdrive. I know that this was not done as ASP Tonny told me.
43. However ASP Tonny asked me the next day to provide my statement instead and so I did.
44. I stopped working for Abdul Razak Baginda on Oct 26, 2006 as this was the day he left for Hong Kong on his own.
45. In mid-November 2006, I received a phone call from ASP Tonny from the IPK Jalan Hang Tuah asking me to see him regarding Aminah’s case. When I arrived there I was immediately arrested under Section 506 of the Penal Code for criminal intimidation.
46. I was then placed in the lock up and remanded for five days. On the third day, I was released on police bail.
47. At the end of November 2006, the D9 department of the IPK sent a detective to my house to escort me to the IPK Jalan Hang Tuah. When I arrived, I was told I was being arrested under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder. I was put in the lock up and remanded for seven days.
48. I was transported to Bukit Aman where I was interrogated and questioned about an SMS I had received from Abdul Razak Baginda on Oct 19, 2006 which read “delay her until my man arrives”. They had apparently retrieved this message from Abdul Razak Baginda’s handphone.
49. They then proceeded to record my statement from 8.30 am to 6pm everyday for seven consecutive days. I told them all I knew including everything Abdul Razak Baginda and Aminah had told me about their relationships with Najib Razak but when I came to sign my statement, these details had been left out.
50. I have given evidence in the trial of Azilah, Sirul and Abdul Razak Baginda at the Shah Alam High Court. The prosecutor did not ask me any questions in respect of Aminah’s relationship with Najib Razak or of the phone call I received from DSP Musa Safri, whom I believe was the ADC for Najib Razak and/or his wife.
51. On the day Abdul Razak Baginda was arrested, I was with him at his lawyers office at 6.30am. Abdul Razak Baginda informed us that he had sent Najib Razak an SMS the evening before as he refused to believe he was to be arrested, but had not received a response.
52. Shortly thereafter, at about 7.30am, Abdul Razak Baginda received an SMS from Najib Razak and showed, this message to both myself and his lawyer. This message read as follows: “I am seeing IGP at 11am today … matter will be solved … be cool”.
53. I have been made to understand that Abdul Razak Baginda was arrested the same morning at his office in the Bangunan Getah Asli, Jalan Ampang.
54. The purpose of this Statutory declaration is to:
i) State my disappointment at the standard of investigations conducted by the authorities into the circumstances surrounding the murder of Altantuya Shaaribuu.
ii) Bring to the notice of the relevant authorities the strong possibility that there are individuals other than the three accused who must have played a role in the murder of Altantuya Shaaribuu.
iii) Persuade the relevant authorities to reopen their investigations into this case immediately so that any fresh evidence may be presented to the court prior to submissions at the end of the prosecutions case.
iv) Emphasise the fact that having been a member of the Royal Malaysian Police Force for 17 years, I am absolutely certain no police officer would shoot someone in the head and blow up their body without receiving specific instructions from their superiors first.
v) Express my concern that should the defence not be called in the said murder trial, the accused, Azilah and Sirul will not have to swear on oath and testify as to the instructions they received and from whom they were given.
55. And I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same be true and by virtue of the provisions of the Statutory Declaration Act 1960.
