Malaysia PM denies his deputy's wife was involved in sensational killing of Mongolian woman

Malaysia PM denies his deputy's wife was involved in sensational killing of Mongolian woman
24 June, 2008

Malaysia's prime minister denied Tuesday that his deputy's wife was involved in the sensational killing of a young Mongolian woman, and said that action will be taken against the prominent blogger who made the allegation.

Blogger Raja Petra Raja Kamaruddin signed a sworn statement earlier this month, claiming he has information linking Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak's wife, Rosmah, to the October 2006 slaying of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a 28-year-old freelance translator and interpreter.

"Raja Petra's actions are unacceptable. It is not right," Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told reporters Tuesday. "I don't believe that Najib and Rosmah are involved."

Raja Petra's claim came on top of another article he wrote earlier this year in which he implied that Najib was involved in the slaying. He was charged with sedition in May for making that claim, but pleaded innocent to the charge. That trial is scheduled to start in October.

Najib and Rosmah have denied any role in Shaariibuu's killing.

Prominent political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, a close associate of Najib, is charged with abetting the murder. Two policemen are accused of killing her and destroying her body with explosives in a jungle clearing outside Kuala Lumpur. The three have been on trial since June 2007.

Abdullah said the attorney general has told him that Raja Petra is being investigated and "action will be taken against him."

He also rejected Raja Petra's allegation in the sworn statement that Malaysia's military intelligence had given him a report about Rosmah's alleged role.

Abdul Razak, who has top-level government contacts in addition to being close to Najib, has confessed in court to having an eight-month affair with Shaariibuu.

The prosecution contends Abdul Razak had her killed because she pestered him for money after he ended their affair. They say he used his connections to get the policemen to carry out the killing and to obtain the military-grade explosives that were used to destroy her body.

Some of Malaysia's most popular blogs offer strongly anti-government commentaries and present themselves as a substitute for mainstream media, which are controlled by political parties or closely linked to them.

In March, a court ordered Raja Petra to pay 4 million ringgit (US$1.25 million) to the state-run Universiti Utara Malaysia and its vice chancellor for publishing an allegedly defamatory article. Raja Petra has refused to pay. - AP