Sunday, March 22, 2009

The ghost of Altantuya returns

The ghost of Altantuya returns
Written by Chua Sue-Ann
Thursday, 05 March 2009

Just as interest in murdered Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu began to wane, she is back in the news.

French newspaper Liberation today published an investigative report by Bangkok-based journalist Arnaud Dubus who painted a chilling picture of Altantuya’s last moments alive.

EdgeLinks was not able to find an official English version from Liberation's website but curious readers can read Malaysiakini's detailed account of the story.

As to be expected, the latest news created a major buzz in the blogosphere, with much of the commentary being in Bahasa Malaysia.

Bloggers appear divided in opinion, with some unquestioningly believing the story to be true while others doubted its veracity.

Singa Maraja is one of the disbelievers: “A Bangkok-based French journalist wants to expose the murder story. What does he know about matters in Malaysia? What are his sources? How does our country’s news escape so easily?”

Similarly, PakKaramu asks of French journalist Arnoud Dubus, “If it is so easy for foreigners to know about this country’s crime stories then whose work is it?”

Several bloggers speculated on conspiracies, such as Amin Iskandar ,who pointed out the curious timing of this damaging revelation: “The closer Najib is to taking over office from Abdullah, the more secrets are revealed… Najib tentu pening kepala,” Amin Iskandar wrote.

And some grim words from Azzlie, who warns: “Well it looks like Altantuya would soon be back to haunt the people of Malaysia. Once upon a time, the Malay beliefs dictated that a murdered pregnant woman had its own myths … Maybe the departed lady would rise from her grave to take revenge on those who were involved in her murder."

On a shorter note, uber-blogger Jeff Ooi remarked, “It's eerie even if it's untrue.”

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