Dr M: DAP trying to run down someone

Dr M: DAP trying to run down someone
26 June, 2008

PUTRAJAYA: The DAP's attempt to file an emergency motion to discuss a blogger's allegations linking Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor to the murder of Altantuya Shaaribuu was a political ploy to run down "somebody in the government", Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.

"They are not really interested in the crime. They have a political agenda and as far as they are concerned, this is the time to run down somebody in the government.

"So, they just seized the opportunity. It has nothing to do with the law," he said after launching a book, Smart Growth, by his wife, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, at Perdana Leadership Foundation yesterday.

"You just can't write to the court and say you learnt from reliable sources. Hearsay is not evidence, this is my understanding. You need to have proof beyond reasonable doubt. This is very serious," he said.

Blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, in a sworn statement, claimed he had received a military intelligence report linking Rosmah, the wife of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, to the crime.

Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) had filed an emergency motion to discuss the statutory declaration. It was rejected on the grounds that the matter was sub judice.

Policemen Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar and Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri are on trial for Altantuya's murder. Political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda has been charged with abetment.

Raja Petra already faces sedition charges in connection with an earlier posting about the murder on his website.

Dr Mahathir also said he would not file an application for a judicial review of the findings by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam video clip, as several others have done.

"I am already found guilty by the royal commission which ruled that if something is possible, then it must have happened.

"Because it is possible that I was influenced by Lingam, therefore, I must have been influenced by Lingam. This is a new criteria of evidence in the court of law. I must be investigated. I am not going to file the application. I want to appear in court," he said. - NST