Politics 101 Malaysia

AsiaSentinel, Sept 10.

In Malaysia’s sensational and politically explosive case of the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a Mongolian translator and jilted lover, the trial of three defendants so far has been remarkable for the man who isn’t there: the most obvious potential suspect and witness.

That is Najib Tun Razak, the deputy prime minister and former defense minister. As shocking and lurid as the murder itself, it may well have implications beyond the crime itself for Malaysia’s defense establishment.

On trial for their lives on charges of killing the 28-year-old beauty are Abdul Razak Baginda, who is accused of conspiring with Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, 30, and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 35, members of the elite Unit Tindak Khas or Special Police Action Unit. Altantuya was found in a jungle clearing near the Kuala Lumpur suburban city of Shah Alam last year after she was shot in the head on October 18 and her body blown up with C4 plastic explosives.

Despite the fact that the case has been underway since June, Najib’s name has been mentioned only once in the Shah Alam high court where the trial is being held. When his name came up, both the defense and the prosecution hurriedly demanded that the mention be withdrawn. Malaysia’s government-influenced newspapers have mentioned Najib only reluctantly in connection with the case, merely printing that he had sworn before Allah that he had never met the woman. ”Continued”

AFP report, July 30

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has once again denied any involvement in a high-profile murder case and accused the country’s opposition of trying to exploit it.

In an interview published in Singapore’s Straits Times today, Najib was asked about the case involving his close associate, political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, 47.

The analyst is on trial charged with abetting the murder in October last year of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu, 28.

“The fact remains that it is purely a private issue, nothing to do with me,” the deputy prime minister told Straits Times, repeating previous denials he has made. ”Continued”

Asia Sentinel, July 13.

After a fourth week of testimony, concerns are growing in Kuala Lumpur that a series of prosecutorial setbacks and allegations of political influence are endangering the case against the three men charged with the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu.

The 28-year-old Mongolian translator was killed on October 18 last year and has since become the grim centerpiece of one of the most controversial criminal cases in Malaysian history. The case, spectacular enough on its own as a tale of love gone horribly wrong, is tinged with overtones of the possible involvement of political figures at the very top of the national power structure. A jet-setting beauty and mother of two, Altantuya had flown to Malaysia to confront Abdul Razak Baginda, the of a local political think tank, to demand as much as US$500,000 from him after he had jilted her following a whirlwind romance in Hong Kong, Paris and other cities, during which he had already given her tens of thousands of US dollars.

Altantuya acknowledged in a letter read in court by her cousin that she had been attempting to blackmail Abdul Razak to force him to give her more money for the upkeep of their love child. The considerable sums of money Abdul Razak had given her, and the additional half-million US dollars she was asking for, have raised questions in Kuala Lumpur about how she thought the head of a think-tank would have that kind of cash lying around. ”Continued”

Bloggers Beware! A visitor to this blog thrice tried to drop into the comments the url to a photo that shows what appeared to be a well-known political figure sharing a bubbly and romantic moment with a now equally famous female foreigner.

I’d say it’s the best fake job I’ve seen. Move over, Tian.

I won’t be publishing the photo because I am not a cat and I don’t have nine lives.

Bloggers can include “http://bkp.0catch.com/images” into their filters. I have left out the jpg’s name.

Careful guys cos the dirty tricks department may try to set you up and there’s no use being a dead hero.

Asia Sentinel, July 7.

It has been a bad week for Najib Tun Razak, the deputy prime minister of Malaysia.

With his close friend Abdul Razak Baginda on trial for her murder, Najib was identified Monday by a witness as having had his picture taken with the victim, Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu.

But the worst could be over, leaving Najib weakened in his quest to succeed Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Malaysia’s prime minister, but probably able to fend off political demise, unless there are further revelations. ”Continued”

I wonder if any international civil aviation laws have been broken when Asst Commissioner Mastor Mohd Ariff and two unnamed officers escorted Kpl Sirul Azhar home, flying Lahore-Bangkok-KL, on the orders of the PDRM.

Sirul travelled Lahore-BKK-KL as a free citizen and uncuffed and unrestrained as he was only arrested upon landing in KL.

What sort of risks were passengers on these flights exposed to? I mean, hey, can a hostage situation be ruled out?

Were the airlines informed of the nature of travel of the four?

How would you feel if you family was on those flights?

by Hannah Beech, TIME, July 5.

A Mongolian part-time model whose naked body was allegedly blown up by military-grade explosives. A former political adviser to Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister charged with abetting the murder of his ex-lover.

Two government security agents whom the prosecution alleges carried out the killing of the 28-year-old Mongolian woman.

A loyal wife who, despite allegations of her husband’s involvement in the plot, has worn a T shirt to the murder trial that says MRS. RAZAK BAGINDA on the front, AND PROUD OF IT on the back. Welcome to what may be the most sensational case in an Asian courtroom today.

Malaysia, a tidy Southeast Asian nation that is often held up as a model of a Muslim-majority democracy, doesn’t usually play host to a murder trial that seems better suited to an episode of The Sopranos. ”Continued”

Tian Chua is defending a photo in his blog which features what appears to be Najib dining with Abdul Razak Baginda and an unidentified woman.

Tian told malaysiakini today he has “never suggested that it is the photo that was mentioned during the trial.”

He said it was “an honour” to have sparked the debate in Parliament yesterday on the doctored photo because, he claimed, there were attempts by certain quarters and the media to downplay Najib’s link in the trial.

Tian wants Najib to go to court to expunge the photo and make it a public document to sooth speculations.

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It appears the government does not appreciate Tian Chua’s arty-fartsy humour.

If Tian’s humour was ‘tasteless’ as claimed, The Star is worse as it tries to implicate PKR by saying his masterpiece was published in the party’s website.

Even that little monkey Bung Mokhtar Radin (BN – Kinabatangan) is joining in, in perhaps a desperate hand up bid to get the PM’s — or DPM’s? — attention that he’s ready for another five years of shame. ”Continued”