How the screwee became the screwer

How the screwee became the screwer
13 May, 2009

I know they have issued a fresh detention order and the instant I appear in court they will detain me under the Internal Security Act and send me to Kamunting. And it burns them up so much that I am so near yet so far away.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

On late Monday afternoon, the court ruled that Nizar is still the Menteri Besar of Perak. On early Tuesday morning, the Appeal Court allowed a stay of execution. This means Nizar was back as Menteri Besar for a mere couple of hours yesterday and then had to hand the state back to Zambry.

What was astonishing was the speed in which the Appeal Court sat to make its decision when there are still so many older cases pending -- sometimes up to ten years while the convicted persons awaiting the outcome of their appeal languish in jail without bail during all that time. And the beauty about this is, even if they lose their appeal, their jail sentence is shorter than the time they have thus far spent in prison under remand. Some have withdrawn their appeal just so that they can go home. It is better to plead guilty or not contest the verdict since the sentence is shorter than the time they would have to spend in prison under remand.

The second thing that has astonished most people; lawyers especially; is the one-man quorum that sat to hear Zambry’s application for a stay of execution. They would have expected a minimum quorum of three judges since this case is of great public interest. But only one man sat to hear Zambry’s application and it certainly does not give an impression that Nizar saw justice done yesterday in the Appeal Court.

That happened to me in the appeal that the government filed against my release from ISA detention in November last year. We asked for a quorum of seven judges. If we can’t get seven we would settle for five. But they refused both seven and five and agreed on only three. Why only three and whose decision was that? It was an administrative decision, meaning a court clerk somewhere decided that it should be three.

We were not told who the judges were until the morning of the hearing. And when we found out who they were we objected to one of them because I had crossed swords with him many times over the last ten years. So this judge was asked to leave the room while the other two sat to hear our objections. When it was pointed out that it is illegal and unconstitutional for only two judges to sit and that we would be appealing against this the judge said, “Do what you like.”

Then the two judges ruled that the third need not recuse and he was invited back to ‘take his rightful place on the bench’.

The court is just fucking around with me and I am expected to ‘respect the court’ and abide to its decisions without a peep or a squeak. Balls! I do not have to, and will not, take this crap. I attended the first day’s hearing, and after seeing how the court pushed us around and treated us like idiots, I refused to walk into that courtroom again for the rest of the hearings. You want to put me on trial, well and fine. I will face the court. But if you want to fuck around with me and treat me like I am one stupid country bumpkin then I do not need to take this crap.

Okay, let us now talk about my second brush with the court, the criminal defamation trial at the end of this month. When I was first charged and asked how I plead, I replied that I refuse to enter any plea. The court said it would take that as a ‘not guilty’ plea. I then raised my voice and told the judge that I did not plead ‘not guilty’. I had refused to enter any plea.

I was advised that, under the law, refusing to enter any plea would be interpreted as a ‘not guilty’ plea.

When they transferred my case to a higher court they again asked me how I plead and I again refused to enter any plea. And, again, they interpreted this as a ‘not guilty’ plea and, again, I raised my voice and said I did not enter a ‘not guilty’ plea.

Look, I did not plead ‘not guilty’. And I don’t care a damn how the court wishes to interpret that. No plea means ‘no plea’ as far as I am concerned and, at that point of time, they had a choice to pronounce me guilty and send me to jail -- which is what I wanted and I told my lawyers so. But my lawyers said that this would not happen because, since I did not enter any plea, then I shall be subjected to a trial.

That is stupid and, in spite of that being the law, a stupid law is still a stupid law. When I refused to enter a plea on both occasions I told the court my reason for doing so was because the charges are defective and mala fide. But the court ignored that. The prosecutor asked my lawyers in what way the charges are defective and mala fide but of course my lawyers would not tell him. If we did then they would amend the charges as they did in my sedition trial when they discovered they were losing their case against me.

When the police called me in for interrogation it was on the basis I had signed a false Statutory Declaration. In fact, the day after I signed it, the AG said that I am guilty of signing a false declaration. Two days later, the IGP also announced they would be taking action against me for signing a false declaration.

How did the AG know? How did the IGP know? I had signed a SD, which I then officially, through my lawyers and by way of letter, sent to the prosecutors in the Altantuya murder trial. This was a ‘for your eyes only’ document. This means, since it is a criminal investigation matter, the SD is classified information and automatically comes under the Official Secrets Act.

However, mysteriously, within 24 hours, my SD appeared on http://bigdogdotcom.wordpress.com/, a Blog run by Zakir, a man aligned to Mukhriz Mahathir. I know Zakir lives next door to a very senior Special Branch officer because he has mentioned this often enough so this is probably how he got a copy of my SD.

Why did the police leak my SD to an Umno Blogger? It was confidential and meant only for the prosecutors in the Altantuya murder trial. But almost immediately the AG plus IGP both told the whole world about it and announced publicly that I had signed a false SD and that they would be taking action against me. They had not even seen the SD yet when they made those announcements. Furthermore, no investigation was launched to determine whether my SD is in fact false or otherwise.

Yes, the decision to ‘take action’ was made way in advance of any investigation. They had put the cart before the horse. Now they had to go look for the horse since the cart had already been announced. After that they called me in for interrogation so that the AG and IGP would not look like the stupid idiots that they are for announcing something before it even happened.

Then they panicked. If they charge me for the crime of signing a false SD then they have to prove it. I need not prove anything. It is not my job to prove anything. Since they are the ones charging me then they have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that I did in fact sign a false SD. What if I manage to put on a good defence and prove that I had not signed a false SD but had in fact signed a truthful one? What if witnesses come forward to testify that what I signed was true?

That’s when they realised they had blundered. If they charge me for signing a false SD and can’t prove it, or I can in fact prove otherwise, then Najib and Rosmah are dead meat. So they changed their strategy and instead charged me for criminal defamation.

But they can’t charge me for criminal defamation. Firstly, Rosmah is not a government officer. Criminal defamation involves you defaming a government officer in the execution of his or her official duties. Rosmah is merely the wife of a politician. She is not a government officer.

The husband and wife army officers may be considered government officers but I ‘defamed’ them in what they did outside their official duties. I did not accuse them of committing a crime when they were discharging their official duties. I did so in their capacity as off-duty army officers on a frolic of their own, as the law would say. This means they were not doing things as government officers but were moonlighting.

The government is therefore not involved in what they did so I did not commit a crime of criminal defamation. Or are they saying that the husband and wife army officers were merely carrying out their official duties under orders from the top?

The government is playing games with me. From the first announcement by the AG, followed by the announcement by the IGP, followed by my interrogation for the crime of signing a false SD, then the eventual charge for a totally different crime altogether, and finally, the transfer of my case to a higher court for no apparent reason whatsoever, I can see that all the government wants to do is to screw me good and proper.

Well, why should I endorse what the government is trying to do? I already said I refuse to enter a plea. I refuse to entertain the government with a trial. If they want to charge me for the crime of signing a false SD, well and fine. Let us fight it out in court and they can try to prove I did in fact sign a false SD -- while I will try to prove otherwise. But in a charge such as criminal defamation, they need not prove the truth of the matter. They only need to prove that I signed the SD. If they can prove I signed it, which they can since I did sign it and never denied doing so, then they can send me to jail.

In short, whether what I signed is true or false does not matter. They need not go into the truth or falsity of my SD. All they need to do is focus on proving that I did sign it and that would be enough to send me to jail, even if what I signed was absolutely true.

And the same goes for my sedition charge. Initially, they made a police report against me because I was alleged to have lied. The police officer who made the police report against me is the same chap who investigated the Altantuya murder. And he knows I lied because, according to him, he investigated the murder and did not stumble across what I was alleged to have written.

In short, he investigated the murder so he knows. And he knows what I was alleged to have written is therefore not true. So, I lied.

Then, he discovered that, since he investigated the murder and therefore knows everything about the murder to the extent that he knows I lied, the court would require him to reveal the truth so that the truth can be compared to what I am alleged to have written to establish whether I had indeed lied or not.

That’s when he changed his story. He said he actually does not know that much because he did not personally investigate the murder. Some other people conducted the investigation and he was merely the coordinator. But earlier he said otherwise.

If he did not personally investigate the murder and does not really know that much about it, how did he then know that I lied? He did make the police report against me on the basis that I lied. He knows that I lied. But he does not know that much about the murder. Yet he knows that I lied because he did not stumble across what I wrote.

What total crap! And when YB Gobind Singh repeatedly asked him about certain facts of the investigation to compare these facts against what I was alleged to have written; to establish in what way I had lied; this police officer with the rank of Superintendent refused to answer the questions.

If he refuses to answer the questions how can we establish the truth and at the same time establish whether I lied? That was when the prosecution told the court that it does not matter whether what I was alleged to have written is true or false. The court only needs to focus on whether I had in fact written that article. And if it can be proven I had indeed written it then I can be sent to jail even if what I wrote was true.

But did not the police report say I had lied and was I not charged for the crime of sedition because I am alleged to have lied? Now it does not matter any longer if I lied or not? Even if I did not lie I am still guilty?

Aiyah, games, games, and even more games. They keep changing the rules and move the goalposts halfway through the game. And they are still doing this. And the Umno guys whack me and insist that I face the court and they call me a coward for refusing to ‘face the music’. I can face the music as what these Umno people insist I do. But what music are they playing? I need to know first before I am asked to face it.

What Umno can’t stand is when you refuse to play by their rules and instead make up your own rules, which they are then forced to follow. Our HINDRAF chap did this when he refused to sign the conditional release papers and insisted that he remain in Kamunting. They had to physically throw him out of Kamunting like they threw Siva out of the Perak State Assembly last week.

Yes, I am having more fun this way. I refuse to tunduk to them and it upsets them like crazy. They tried to screw me and I turn around and screw them instead. They gave me an ultimatum to issue a public apology to the Sultan of Perak or else the family is going to insert a full-page advertisement in the mainstream newspapers announcing that I have been disowned. Then I turn around and disown them instead by going into exile.

No, I am nobody’s patsy. And I will go to great lengths to defy them every step of the way. I know they have issued a fresh detention order and the instant I appear in court they will detain me under the Internal Security Act and send me to Kamunting. And it burns them up so much that I am so near yet so far away.

The mystery of the missing confession

The mystery of the missing confession
4 May, 2009

We met early April at La Bordega in Bangsar. Bull suggested I should instead sign a Statutory Declaration, as that would be stronger. They can ignore my article but they can’t ignore a Statutory Declaration.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

From the 12th to the 22nd September 2008, I was detained at the Police Remand Centre (PRC) where most ISA detainees spend their first 60 days of detention. Suddenly, on the morning of the 22nd, I was told that my interrogation, which was held from the 17th to the 21st, is going to end and that they have to finalise their report that same day.

That was the first surprise.

I was supposed to sign my statement the following day -- on the 23rd. Instead, I was packed off to Kamunting the morning of the 23rd without being allowed to sign the statement cum confession.

That was the second surprise.

What was it that the higher-ups were so scared about that they wanted to keep my confession cum statement from those who were supposed to review it and decide whether I can be released or should be sent to Kamunting for further detention? I really don’t know because they never told me.

Anyway, here is part of my interrogation by the Special Branch -- what they asked and what I replied.

The last time you were detained for 54 days, is that correct?

Yes, it was from 11 April to 6 June 2001. I think it was about 54 days.

You were not sent to Kamunting right?

That’s correct.

That’s because you cooperated. So if this time you also cooperate then there is a good chance you will also not be sent to Kamunting. You might be allowed to go home like the last time.

(I just nod)

We find your Statutory Declaration very hard to believe.

Why do you say that?

Well, we don’t think what you said about Rosmah being at the murder scene is correct.

How do you know?

It is highly unlikely. Rosmah is very rich. She has plenty of money. Why would she want to take the risk of going there personally? She can pay someone to do the job. No need for her to go there herself.

Well, that’s what I was told, that she went there personally.

We don’t think so. It doesn’t make sense for her to go there herself.

Okay, if you say so, but I know what I was told.

Who told you?

Lt Kol Azmi Zainal Abidin. He is the number two in the Special Branch of the Military Intelligence.

Yes, we know who he is.

So, that means you can ask him yourself then since you know him.

But how do you know he was telling you the truth? He could be setting you up.

I admit I don't know Lt Kol Azmi that well. But he is always in Ku Li’s office. He is very close to Ku Li. And Anwar Ibrahim also knows him very well.

So you are not really that close to Lt Kol Azmi. That means you don’t know whether you can trust him. We feel he is setting you up as the fall guy.

Maybe if I had to just trust him then I wouldn't dare take that risk. I mean; I don’t know him well enough to trust him all the way. But the person who introduced us is a very old friend. I’ve known him for about 45 years, longer than I’ve known my wife. And I trust my friend. My friend gave me his personal assurance that the story is legit.

Who is that friend?

Nik Azmi Nik Daud. We call him Bull. He works for Ku Li. I also asked Din Merican to check with Anwar whether I can trust Lt Kol Azmi with my life. Those were the exact words I used.

What did Anwar say?

Anwar replied you should never trust anyone with your life. However, Lt Kol Azmi’s information is very reliable. I also asked John Pang, who also works for Ku Li, to check with Ku Li whether Lt Kol Azmi’s information is reliable. I told John what Lt Kol Azmi told us and asked him to inform Ku Li about it. John confirmed that Lt Kol Azmi told Ku Li the same thing and that the information is reliable.

So that is why you signed the Statutory Declaration?

No. Actually, initially, I wanted to just write an article, like usual. But Bull asked to meet first before I write anything. So we met early April at La Bordega in Bangsar. Bull suggested I should instead sign a Statutory Declaration, as that would be stronger. They can ignore my article but they can’t ignore a Statutory Declaration.

Then you signed it?

No. I still did not sign it yet. I was worried about the repercussions. We would be forcing the government to act and they might come down hard on me. As Bull said, they can ignore my article but they can’t ignore a Statutory Declaration. Bull called for a second meeting on the Sunday before I signed the Statutory Declaration. We met at the Selangor Club Dataran Merdeka for lunch.

And then?

I told Bull I was a bit worried about signing a Statutory Declaration because the government will surely arrest and charge me if I do. I felt an article would be safer. But Bull disagreed. He felt an article was not strong enough. Bull said if anything happens to me they would go to court to testify that what I had signed is the truth. Bull assured me they would not allow me to rot in jail. So, on the 18th June, I signed the Statutory Declaration.

Are you sure they will come forward to testify in your trial?

That’s what Bull told me and I trust him. As I said, I’ve known him for 45 years.

Okay, let’s see whether they do or not. But we think they will not. They will not come forward to testify at your trial.

Maybe. Maybe what you say is true. I don’t know. Let’s see. After all I have already been charged and my trial will soon start. Let’s see whether they keep their word and testify at my trial. But I am confident they will because they have given me their assurance.

We believe you have been set up as the fall guy. Maybe they want to get rid of you.

I don’t think so. Anyway, we will know soon enough once my trial starts. It is going to be a most interesting trial indeed once the truth surfaces. Don’t you think so?

Didn’t Najib’s people approach you to make a deal?

You mean to buy my silence? Yes, they did.

Who?

Datuk Jamaluddin Jarjis.

JJ?

Yes.

When?

It was not long after I was charged for sedition, before I signed the Statutory Declaration. JJ phoned and said he wanted to meet. I knew he was working for Najib so I agreed. We met at the car park outside Kelab Taman Perdana. My wife drove me there and waited at a distance. She was worried that it may be a trap and she wanted to be cautious in case they were setting me up, or something like that.

JJ arrived about 6pm and asked me to get into his car. He was alone. I waved to my wife and signalled her to go home and she wrote down JJ’s car number plate in case I disappeared or whatever.

We drove to a roadside stall in Jalan Ipoh and sat there and talked. JJ told me that Najib had asked him to meet me to make a deal. I asked him whether Najib really knows we are meeting and whether he had endorsed or sanctioned the meeting and JJ replied that our meeting was on Najib’s instructions.

We spent about an hour talking. The bottom line is he wanted me to stop writing about Najib and Altantuya. He also asked me whether I could delay my sedition trial until Najib becomes the Prime Minister. Once Najib is installed as Prime Minister they will drop the charges against me. I will also receive a monthly allowance of RM30,000 for my cooperation. He didn’t say for how long though.

I asked him how to delay the trial and he replied I can always get a medical certificate to confirm I am not fit enough to attend trial. I told him if I delayed the trial then the legal costs would increase and he offered to pay all the legal fees. He asked me to get my lawyers to issue an invoice and he would pay the cost, whatever it may be.

I told my lawyers about this incident so that at least some other people know about it.

So, what happened to the deal?

Soon after that I signed my Statutory Declaration. That was my way of saying no deal. After that they arrested me and charged me for criminal defamation. I suppose that was their way of replying to my reply.

Wouldn’t it have been better for you to accept the deal? After all, Najib is soon going to be the Prime Minister.

Maybe. But it’s too late now isn’t it? I have already burned my bridges behind me.

The above is a small portion of my questions and answers session with the Special Branch over the five days of interrogation. This, plus a lot more, was compiled into a report, which I was supposed to sign on the morning of 23 September 2008 -- but which never materialised for some strange reason. I am probably the first ISA detainee in almost 50 years who made a statement (confession) but was never asked to sign it.

Again, What Did Najib Know and When Did He Know It?

Again, What Did Najib Know and When Did He Know It?

Written by Our Correspondent

Monday, 09 March 2009

An influential French daily newspaper raises new questions over the murder of a Mongolian translator in Malaysia

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, in an explosive article in the French daily newspaper Liberation by reporter Arnad Dubus, is tied ever closer to events that led to the murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu. Najib has been selected by the United Malays National Organization as the ethnic political party’s presidential nominee, which is tantamount to his succeeding Abdullah Ahmad Badawi when the latter steps down as prime minister in April.

What follows is a translation of Dubus's article.

Shaaribuu Setev is a bitter and disappointed man. Yet, behind the saddened face of this Mongolian lies a fierce determination. Seated in a sofa in the lobby of an Ulaan Baataar hotel rattled by the gusts of a freezing wind, this 60year-old man is ready to fight. His facial features, hardened by the suffering and the stern climate, and his intense gaze tell all. "My daughter was murdered by Malaysians on Malaysian territory. And they did not have even offer a word of apology," states this professor of psychology at the National University of Mongolia.

The assassination of Setev’s daughter, Altantuya Shaaribuu, took place in October 2006. This was a murder unlike others in a region where business conflicts or petty politics are often settled with a gun. Everything in this case, which started in 2002 when the French Spanish company Armaris concluded the sale of three submarines to the Malaysian government for the amount of €1 billion, is out of the ordinary.

The impact of the "Altantuya case" in France, Malaysia and Mongolia has yet to reach its climax. The murder of the 28 year old Mongolian was the result of a "commission" at the price of €114 million by Armaris to its Malaysian counterpart. This "commission," which was acknowledged by the Malaysian government in front of the Parliament in Kuala Lumpur, has triggered a chain of events that has led to the assassination of Altantuya and the disappearance of several key witnesses in the case.

A report from the Malaysian police, written on 19th November 2006 and which has been kept secret until now (can be read below), reveals dry and precise descriptions as to how the young woman, a member of Asian high society, was killed. In this document, one of the killers, a policeman of the Malaysian Special Branch named Sirul Omar, replied to the questions of an officer at a police station close to the murder scene. "When the Chinese woman saw that I was taking a gun, she begged me to spare her, saying she was pregnant. Azilah (the commanding officer of Sirul) grabbed her and [threw] her on the ground. I immediately shot the left side of her face. Then Azilah took off her clothes and put them in a black plastic bag. Azilah noticed that her hand was still moving. He ordered me to shoot again, which I did", said Sirul.

This is the first confirmation of Altantuya's assassins' identity.

"Then we carried her body into the woods. Azilah wrapped the explosives around her legs, her abdomen and her head, and we exploded her."

The revelation of this report in the French newspaper Liberation is the latest chapter in this colorful and dramatic saga featuring French weapons sellers, a Mongolian shaman, and Malaysian politicians. The case is explosive not only for the Malaysian government, since Deputy Prime minister Najib Razak (who is scheduled to become Prime minister at the end of March) is suspected of having links to the case, but also because it could embarrass the DCNS, a French company specializing in military shipbuilding. The French Spanish company Armaris, which sold two Scorpène and one Agosta submarines to Malaysia in June 2002, was bought by DCNS in 2007.

With her magnetic beauty and sophistication, Altantuya was reminiscent of the troubling image of a Far East Mata Hari. She grew up in Saint Petersburg (Russia), then studied at the Institute of Economic Management in Beijing. Besides speaking English, she was fluent in Russian, Chinese and Korean. The fateful cycle for Altantuya came into gear when she met Abdul Razak Baginda in Hong Kong in 2004. Baginda is a security expert and the director of the Malaysian Strategic Research Center, a pro-government think-tank. The two quickly became romantically involved. Altantuya, nicknamed Tuya by her friends, proved to be a useful assistant, helping Baginda translate from Russian to English.

Whereas Altantuya was young and beautiful, the rich and alluring Baginda was a well known figure of the Kuala Lumpur elite, notably because of his proximity to the Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and minister of Defense, Najib Razak (he is also his security affairs adviser). Baginda paraded in the most exclusive circles of Kuala Lumpur, sometimes accompanied by his legitimate wife.

In March 2005, Altantuya and Baginda departed for Europe, touring France, Germany, Italy and Portugal in Baginda’s red Ferrari, staying in posh hotels and dining in the finest restaurants of the old Continent. This trip, however, was not only for tourism: the contract for the sale of the submarines had been signed in 2002, but important details had yet to be settled.

"We knew that Baginda was used by Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak as an intermediary for weapons systems deals, especially the high level ones," says a regional security affairs expert.

At the end of March 2005 the couple was in Paris, where they met with Najib Razak. A picture shows the threesome in a Parisian private club. "Tuya showed me the pix. She said that one of the men was her boyfriend, Abdul Razak Baginda, and the other the "big boss", Najib Razak. I asked her if they were brothers because of the names, but she said no, and that Najib Razak was the ‘prime minister’", said Amy, Altantuya’s best friend (Najib Razak has sworn on the Koran that he has never met Altantuya).

According to a private detective now in hiding in India, the beautiful Tuya was also the occasional mistress of the deputy Prime minister, who was introduced to her by Baginda at the end of 2004.

The story became dramatic when, in October 2006, Altantuya was informed that the commission paid by the French-Spanish company Armaris had arrived on a Kuala Lumpur bank account. It had been paid to Perimekar, a company owned by Baginda. Altantuya rushed to Kuala Lumpur in order to claim her share of the commission from Baginda ; she said she was entitled to US$500,000. Baginda and Altantuya had broken up prior to this.

A jealous Rosmah Mansor, the feared businesswoman and wife of Najib Razak, objected to any payment to Altantuya. Altantuya arrived in Kuala Lumpur with two other Mongolian women, one of them was a shaman responsible for putting a spell on Baginda if he refused to pay. For several days, Altantuya harassed her ex-lover.

On the 18th of October, Baginda could no longer tolerate the daily scenes made by Altantuya in front of his house. He contacted the Director of the Special Branch, Musa Safrie, who happened to also be Najib Razak’s aide de camp. On October 19th, 2006, a little before 9 pm, two police officers of the Special Branch, Azilah Hadridan and Sirul Omar, were sent in front of Baginda’s house where Altantuya was gesticulating and shouting. They had the order of "neutralising the Chinese woman." They kidnapped her, and drove her 10 kilometers away and shot her several times. Then they destroyed her body with C4 explosives, a type which can only be obtained from within the Defense Ministry. Her entry into Malaysia was erased from the immigration records. It would appear that Altantuya had never come to Malaysia, because there is no trace left of her.

There is no perfect crime. The taxi driver hired by Altantuya for the day did not appreciate that his passenger was kidnapped under his eyes without payment for the fare. He took note of the registration plate of the kidnapper’s car and filed a complaint at the local police station. In a few days, the police identified the car and realized that it was a government vehicle.

Events unfolded that even the Deputy Prime minister Najib Razak could not impede. He tried to cover the case. A few hours before the arrest of Baginda, he sent him a SMS: "I will see the Inspector General of Police at 11 am today… The problem will be solved. Be cool". A few hours after, Baginda was arrested as well as the two police officers of the Special Branch, Azilah and Sirul.

After a trial considered dubious by many observers, Baginda was acquitted of the accusation of having ordered the murder and released in November 2008. Accused of having perpetrated the murder, Azilah and Sirul appeared in front of the Court last month. If convicted, their sentence is death. The verdict is scheduled for the 9th of April.

Thousands of miles from there, in the Mongolian capital city Ulaan Baataar, Shaariibuu Setev, Altantuya’s father, is trying to control his anger. To him and his family, the acquittal and release of Baginda is symbolic of the unfairness of the Malaysian judicial process: "The Malaysian government is not even answering to the letters from the Mongolian Foreign Affairs Ministry," he says.

When Shaariibuu came to the Malaysian Parliament to meet Najib Razak, the Deputy Prime minister had to escape through a back door in order to avoid an embarrassing encounter. The Altantuya case has become a key element of the Malaysian political game between Najib Razak (who is expected to become Prime Minister after the United Malay Nation Organisation (UMNO) Congress in March) and the opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. So far, Najib Razak has navigated around the obstacles, but the murder of the young Mongolian remains a sword suspended over his head.

One of the most obscure aspects of the Altantuya case is the role of the Armaris company. In October 2007, the Malaysian Deputy Defense minister, Zainal Abdidin Zin, acknowledged in front of the Parliament that Armaris had effectively paid €114 million in commissions to Perimekar. He maintained that it was not a bribe, but a payment for "support and coordination services."

Was there corruption as in the case of the Taiwanese frigates in which the French DCNS was also implicated? DCNS, a private company with public financing, has declined our request for a meeting. "Nobody can comment on this case," was the sober reply of the DCNS Press relations officer in Paris.

A document, which could establish a link between Altantuya and the French company is the guarantee letter written by Abdul Razak Baginda so that his mistress could obtain a visa to enter the Schengen zone (of whom France is a member country). The French embassy could not refuse this service to a man decorated with the Legion d’Honneur.

But the role of Altantuya in the submarines negotiations is still not clear. Intelligence agencies find her background intriguing and the Russian FSB (ex-KGB) is following closely the case.

In Ulaan Baataar, Mungunshagai, the eldest son of Altantuya, who is 12 years old, is traumatised by the death of his mother. Altanshagai, the youngest, who is five years old and mentally handicapped, has not understood that he will never see again his mother. "He is asking for her all the time and is staying the whole day prostrated on his chair. Every evening, I bring him sweets and I tell him that his mother gave it to me for him", says Shaaribuu Setev, the grandfather of the two boys.

As for Baginda, he has settled in the United Kingdom with his family. He never uttered a word of regret on the deadly fate of the one who shared his life for two years.

Asia Sentinel

Arms deal link to death of model

Arms deal link to death of model
22 Mar, 2009

The scandal exploded last week after the French newspaper Libération alleged that the submarines deal and the murder of Altantuya Shariibuu, 28, were connected.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Michael Sheridan and Matthew Campbell, The Sunday Times

A FRENCH arms company is at the centre of a deepening scandal involving the sale of three submarines, the murder of a beautiful Mongolian interpreter and the man most likely to become prime minister of Malaysia next month.

All three have been linked in a sensational sequence of revelations that has convinced many Malaysians that the woman was killed to silence her demands of a share in the rewards of the transaction.

The scandal exploded last week after the French newspaper Libération alleged that the submarines deal and the murder of Altantuya Shariibuu, 28, were connected.

A glamorous, cosmopolitan woman, Altantuya grew up in St Petersburg, spoke Russian, Chinese, Korean and English, moved in elite circles and has been dubbed “a Far Eastern Mata Hari”.

She became the mistress of a Malaysian political fixer and was allegedly trying to extort money from him at the time of her violent demise.

Two members of an elite Malaysian police unit that protects top politicians are on trial in Kuala Lumpur, accused of shooting her in the jungle and then blowing up her body with military explosives.

Azilah Hadri, 32, and Sirul Azhar Umar, 36, officers in the Special Branch, could go to the gallows if convicted of abducting and murdering Altantuya on October 19, 2006. A verdict is expected early next month.

Their trial is unfolding as Najib Razak, the country’s deputy prime minister, stands on the verge of taking over as premier after a ruling-party leadership election, due within days.

Najib was accused by a young opposition MP, Gobind Singh Deo, in parliament, of involvement in the murder. Deo was suspended by the Speaker for making the remark. The deputy prime minister has strongly denied any involvement.

Testimony in an earlier court case has established an intimate personal and financial connection between the dead woman and a close aide to Najib, who was minister of defence at the time of the submarine deal.

The aide, Abdul Razak Baginda, was acquitted by a court last November of being an accessory in the murder. He has since been working on a doctorate at Trinity College, Oxford.

Baginda admitted that the dead woman was his mistress for about a year and prosecutors said she had pestered him for money after their break-up.

Just before her death she arrived in Kuala Lumpur, accompanied by a Mongolian shaman, who was to put a curse on Baginda if he did not pay up.

Altantuya was dragged away from outside Baginda’s home by two Special Branch officers, but he was acquitted after maintaining that he never gave orders for her to be harmed.

The Libération exposé linking the murder to the shadowy world of arms contracts has embarrassed the French war-ship firm DCNS. Armaris, a firm now merged with DCNS, sold the three submarines to Malaysia in 2002 for £937m.

Attention has centred on why Armaris paid £107m to a Malaysian company called Perimekar in 2006.

Opposition leaders alleged in parliament that the payment was a “commission” for intermediaries and that Perimekar was secretly owned by Baginda. Najib replied that it was not a “commission” and that Perimekar was a “project services provider”.

Libération has alleged that Altantuya, who toured France with Baginda in a Ferrari, wining and dining at expensive restaurants, learnt of the payment. It said she was demanding $500,000 (£345,000).

DCNS has refused to comment. It is already the subject of a French judicial investigation into corrupt practices, thanks to a whistleblower who has detailed bribery and industrial espionage allegations.

Last week, efforts to contact Baginda, a self-styled political analyst, at his new home in Oxford were unsuccessful.

Najib has avoided public comment but his politically influential wife, Rosmah Mansor, told the French news agency AFP that she was “shocked” by attempts to link her husband and her to the case.

Additional reporting: Alex Yong in Kuala Lumpur

As ‘miserable’ as Rosmah - Altantuya’s family and the suspension of MP Gobind Singh Deo

As ‘miserable’ as Rosmah - Altantuya’s family and the suspension of MP Gobind Singh Deo
17 Mar, 2009

A close aide of Najib, Razak Baginda, has admitted that the slim and beautiful Mongolian national was his lover. However, a private investigator in the case has also revealed that before meeting Razak, Altantuya was Najib’s mistress.

By Wong Choon Mei, Suara keADILan

Incoming prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor may have upped the ante in the fight to prove their innocence from allegations of being involved in the international commission and murder case of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu.

If so, the latest salvo from the couple - the barring of lawmakers from Malaysia’s own Parliament from even trying to raise questions about their possible complicity - has worked against them, creating even greater suspicion in the minds of Malaysians.

Not only are parliamentarians shaking their heads at improper procedure, many Malaysians believe that a sensational news report published by well-known French newspaper Liberation recently may have shot a bit too near to the truth for comfort.

Hence the shocking decision to suspend Gobind Singh Deo, the fast-rising and popular MP for Puchong known for his fearless defence and pro-bono legal work for the underdog. Gobind had tried to question Najib in Parliament, sparking a counter-attack from the government, which now wants him barred from the august House for a year without pay or privileges.

Tabled by Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz, the motion to suspend him with immediate effect was passed today after 40 minutes of debate. This spurred an immediate walkout by the opposition, even though the Najib’s Umno-Barisan Nasional coalition had been expected to leverage on its majority and hammer the vote through.

“This is an indication of Najib’s intolerance. It also shows how allergic he is to the mere mention of Altantuya,” scorned Tian Chua, an opposition lawmaker and information chief of KeADILan.

“Gobind was already been punished by the Deputy Speaker Ronald Kiandee with a one-day suspension for what transpired in the House on Thursday, and it goes against all the rudiments of common sense, fair play and justice to subject him to double jeopardy with a very harsh second punishment over the same incident,” chided veteran politician Lim Kit Siang.

But according to Nazri: “His rude behaviour to the Deputy Prime Minister was sufficient.”

As ‘miserable’ as Rosmah

But such is the political reality in Malaysia after more than five decades of dominance by the Umno-BN, where as a result, top Umno leaders are emboldened to pursue their whims and fancies - political or personal - with little fear of retribution or remorse.

The 28-year old Altantuya, who was pregnant, was allegedly shot twice in the head by two elite police officers, previously detailed as bodyguards to Rosmah. Her body was then blown up with explosives to avoid identification.

A close aide of Najib, Razak Baginda, has admitted that the slim and beautiful Mongolian national was his lover. However, a private investigator in the case has also revealed that before meeting Razak, Altantuya was Najib’s mistress.

According to Liberation, Altantuya was a go-between in Malaysia’s costly purchase of two Scorpene submarines during Najib’s tenure as defence minister, while Razak was his intermediary for the commission paid by European shipbuilder Armaris.

Things came to boil, when a jealous Rosmah refused to pay Altanutya a cent of her US$500,000 share of the overall 114 million euros commission. Altantuya’s pestering of Razak eventually led to her killing, the French newspaper reported.

Najib and Rosmah have assiduously denied all involvement in the case. In a bid to damage-control, Rosmah has in the past few days given out interviews to foreign media.

“When I heard these unpleasant things it shocked me, I can’t imagine that somebody like that could exist on this earth and not feel guilty about making other people’s lives miserable,” she told a news wire over the weekend.

Possibly so, but another group that must have also felt as miserable as Rosmah, is Altantuya’s family - her two small sons, her mother and her father. They have threatened to take the case to the International Court of Justice.

14 days is a long time in politics

14 days is a long time in politics
11 Mar, 2009

The Federal Constitution merely states that the Agong shall appoint the Prime Minister from amongst a Member of the House who, in Tuanku’s opinion, commands the confidence of the majority of the Members of the House. It says nothing about the Prime Minister having to be the President of Umno or the Chairman of Barisan Nasional.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Moreover, Mr. Najib brings to the job much political baggage. In particular there is the case involving an adviser to Mr. Najib of a Mongolian woman who was shot and blown up with specialized C4 plastic explosives in Malaysia in 2006. The adviser, the woman’s former lover, was cleared of ordering her death in a protracted court case that drew harsh public criticism and left vital questions unanswered. Two members of an elite police bodyguard unit assigned to Mr. Najib, who were asked by the adviser to “do something” about the woman because she was blackmailing him, have to answer murder charges. The adviser said he had contacted the two policemen through Mr. Najib’s aide-de-camp, and one of them, a chief inspector, testified that the aide-de-camp had instructed him to help the adviser.

Before the adviser was charged, Mr. Najib sent a text message to a lawyer representing his adviser saying that the adviser “will have to face a tentative charge but all is not lost,” according to a transcript of their exchanges. One of the country’s most popular bloggers and online journalist-editors, Raja Petra Kamarudin, faces sedition and libel charges after allegedly implicating Mr. Najib and his wife in the killing. Although Mr. Najib has denied ever knowing the victim, taking the unusual step of swearing his innocence in a mosque, he has been unable to stem an avalanche of gossip, speculation and serious analysis, much of it circulated on the Internet.

Mr. Najib also has long been embroiled in allegations of corruption in the purchase of big-ticket weapon systems during his two lengthy terms as defense minister (1990-95, 1999-2008; he retained the defense portfolio after becoming deputy prime minister in 2003), when he drove an aggressive military modernization program. According to Foreign Policy in Focus, a Washington-based think tank, foreign arms manufacturers use well-connected Malaysians as lobbyists, paying them commissions of 10% to 20% to win contracts. Malaysia’s political opposition says much of the money goes to people closely associated with UMNO, including Mr. Najib’s contacts, though the police and anticorruption authorities have not investigated particular cases to the satisfaction of complainants.

For example, the 115 million euros “coordination and support services” payment for Malaysia’s purchase in 2002 of two new Scorpene and one reconditioned Agosta submarine for 1 billion euros was paid to Perimekar Sdn. Bhd. Perimekar at the time was owned by a company called K.S. Ombak Laut Sdn Bhd — later by two other companies as well — which was in turn owned by Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda, the Najib adviser who stood trial for abetting the murder of the Mongolian woman. The Defense Ministry denied paying a commission and said Peremkear was awarded a genuine contract to support the acquisition of the submarines.

Najib's Challenge: Clean up UMNO by Barry Wain, Far Eastern Economic Review (http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/19043/84/)

********************************

What a day to have lunch together. On a day when Najib is announcing his staggering RM60 billion stimulus package, Abdullah has lunch with Anwar.

I haven’t seen Abdullah looking so relaxed and cheerful for a long time. Click here to have a peek. (http://shamsuliskandar.wordpress.com/2009/03/10/pm-abdullah-dan-dsai-makan-tengahari-untuk-keamanan/)

According to PKR Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar in his blog, both leaders were invited by Al-Fadhil Tuan Guru Syeikh Mahmud Al-Majzubdi (better known as Tok Ayah) for the Maulud Rasul celebrations at the Madrasah Nurul Iman, Hulu Langat in Selangor.

Anwar says people are reading too much into the encounter. But hey, it’s not everyday the PM and Anwar have lunch together; so tongues are bound to wag.

Anyway, 49 per cent of over 5,000 respondents to the poll on this blog think that Abdullah will remain as PM after March while only 11 per cent of you think Najib will take over. Let’s wait and see what happens.

Anwar-Abdullah lunch fuels speculation by Anil Netto (http://anilnetto.com/malaysian-politics/anwar-abdullah-lunch-fuels-speculation/)

********************************

It is roughly two weeks to go before the coming Umno General Assembly. Two weeks is 14 days and 14 days is a long time in politics. Anwar went from becoming the successor to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to a sacked Umno member in only three days. And about two weeks later be found himself in jail facing a possible nine criminal charges, seven which were later dropped after they secured a conviction on the first two, which attracted a total jail sentence of 15 years.

Can Najib Tun Razak still make it as Prime Minister at the end of this month? There is no doubt he will become the Umno President, mainly because he will win uncontested and anyone can win in a walkover. But this does not mean he will also become the Prime Minister because there is no law that says the Umno President must also become the Prime Minister.

Tun Razak, Najib’s father, became Prime Minister while Tunku Abdul Rahman stayed on as the Umno President. Dr Mahathir stayed on as Prime Minister after Umno got deregistered and the MCA President, Ling Liong Sik, took over as the Barisan Nasional Chairman. For all intents and purposes, Dr Mahathir was an independent Member of Parliament and a man with no party for that brief period of time until the new Umno called Umno Baru was registered.

The Federal Constitution merely states that the Agong shall appoint the Prime Minister from amongst a Member of the House who, in Tuanku’s opinion, commands the confidence of the majority of the Members of the House. It says nothing about the Prime Minister having to be the President of Umno or the Chairman of Barisan Nasional. For that matter, Ibrahim Ali, the sole independent Member of Parliament, can become Prime Minister if at least 112 of the 222 Members of Parliament support him as Prime Minister -- heaven forbid.

And do at least 112 of the 222 Members of Parliament want Najib as the next Prime Minister come end of this month? Okay, maybe SOME of the 65 Umno Members of Parliament from Peninsular Malaysia do. And maybe SOME of the 13 Umno Members of Parliament from Sabah do as well. But that makes only 78 Members of Parliament who want him as Prime Minister -- assuming ALL 78 Umno Members of Parliament from Peninsular Malaysia as well as Sabah are unanimous in their support for Najib.

And this is only if we assume that ALL 78 Umno Members of Parliament are unanimous in their support for Najib. From what I have been told, at least 20 are with Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Amongst these 20 are of course Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Khairy Jamaluddin and Abdullah Badawi himself. So there is no way Najib can get the unanimous support of all the 78 Umno Members of Parliament. At best he can get the support of only 58 Umno Members of Parliament. This means Najib is still short of 54 Members of Parliament.

But then, can Najib afford to get the support of only 112 Members of Parliament? What if one were to get a heart attack while playing badminton and dies, or his/her nude photographs or sex video suddenly appeared on the Internet and he/she is forced to resign, or something like which is so customary nowadays. Then Najib would be left with only 111 Members of Parliament against 111 who are against him. This would result in a hung Parliament and Najib would find himself as the Prime Minister with the shortest term in Malaysian history.

No, a figure of 112 is just too close to the bone. Najib would need at least 130 to 140 to be home with a comfortable margin. And that means he cannot depend solely on the Umno Members of Parliament. Umno alone can’t give him the numbers. Umno has only 78 while just 58 are with him. He also needs the 30 non-Umno Members of Parliament from Sarawak and the balance 11 from Sabah plus the 20 from MCA, MIC and Gerakan as well.

Najib is banking on full support from Umno. He can of course get full support from the 2,500 or so Umno delegates who will be attending the Umno General Assembly in about two weeks time. But not all the 2,500 Umno delegates are Members of Parliament. Only 78 are while just 58 are with him. Najib has far from secured the job of Prime Minister of Malaysia whatever the outcome of the Umno General Assembly.

Ali Rustam will win the Umno Deputy Presidency and Najib’s cousin, Hishammuddin, is going to lose the Vice President’s post, while Khir Toyo will become the Youth Leader. Najib is going to automatically become the Umno President only because no one is able to challenge him. But he is going to be isolated and surrounded by those who are not aligned to him as far as the other Umno positions are concerned.

If Najib is assured of becoming the Prime Minister then he can be guaranteed the support of the non-Umno Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament from MCA, MIC, Gerakan, Sabah and Sarawak. He will of course not get the support of the 83 Pakatan Rakyat Members of Parliament. But he has a chance of getting the support of the 61 non-Umno Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament.

This, however, will depend on whether he is assured of becoming Prime Minister. People have a habit of supporting the winner. If you are winner everyone wants to be associated with you and wants to become your friend. No one, however, wants to become associated with a loser. And unless Najib can show he is a winner and not a loser he will not be guaranteed the support of the 61 non-Umno Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament.

Abdullah Badawi has more or less resigned to the fact that by 1 April 2009 he would be sent into retirement. He has even bought an iPhone, which he intends to use to communicate with his grandkids. Does he even know how to use that very complicating iPhone? Not yet, but since he will soon be retiring he has plenty of time to learn how to use it and then spend hours chatting with his grandkids. Hell, he may even set up his own Blog and Facebook since he would not have much work come 1 April 2009.

His wife, Jeanne Danker, is also looking forward to retirement. This simple lady does not enjoy the limelight of ‘First Lady’ and will not miss life in Seri Perdana. She would rather spend her time with her husband and kids. But she abhors the thought of handing this country over to Najib. And Abdullah Badawi’s kids share Jeanne’s view. They are not opposed to Abdullah Badawi retiring. They are opposed to the idea of Najib taking over with the porky Rosmah Mansor gracing the halls of Seri Perdana as the ‘First Lady’ and ‘Queen Elizabeth’ both rolled into one.

They say there is no such thing as hell on earth. But then these people have not imagined life with Rosmah Mansor calling the shots as to how this country should be run. In fact, it would be more like run into the ground with her at the helm. And this is also the view of the Agong.

No doubt Malaysia is a Constitutional Monarchy and the Agong ‘shall act on the advice of the Prime Minister’ -- and ‘shall’ has been wrongly interpreted as ‘must’. But there are certain things that the Agong does not act on the advice of the Prime Minister and instead uses his own discretion. And one of these things is with regards to the appointment of the Prime Minister who in Tuanku’s opinion commands the confidence of the majority of the Members of the House.

We have seen, of late, the Rulers exercising their discretion in the appointments of the CEOs. Perak, Selangor, Terengganu and Perlis are examples of this. The Rulers and not Umno decided on who should lead the states. The recent Perak crisis, where the state changed hands from Pakatan Rakyat to Barisan Nasional, is yet another case in point. The Rulers have the power to decide and they have not backed down from exercising this power. And the same applies with regards to the appointment of the Prime Minister.

Anwar Ibrahim’s meeting with Abdullah Badawi yesterday laid the foundation for cooperation between Pakatan Rakyat and some dissenting voices in Barisan Nasional who feel Najib should not be the next Prime Minister. With the 83 Pakatan Rakyat Members of Parliament and another 20 from Umno that makes 103 in all. So all they need is another nine to deny Najib the job of Prime Minister. And MCA has 15, MIC 3, Gerakan 2, Sarawak 30, while the non-Umno Members of Parliament from Sabah come to another 11. Getting just nine from amongst that large group of 61 is not that difficult.

Anwar Ibrahim may never become Prime Minister. But even if he does he is still the lesser of the two evils compared to Najib as far as Abdullah Badawi is concerned. And as far as Anwar is concerned, whether he becomes Prime Minister or not is not the key issue at the moment. What is would be that the Prime Minister must not be Najib. So even if all that Anwar achieves in the end would be for Abdullah Badawi to stay on, that too would be the lesser of the two evils in Anwar’s book.

Abdullah Badawi may have to keep his iPhone in the box awhile longer. He may not have the time to learn how to use it after all. Many are bent on assuring that Najib never takes over as Prime Minister. And if the new Prime Minister is not going to be Anwar, then Abdullah Badawi would have to instead stay on for some time to come. And if this happens then I will personally go to meet Abdullah Badawi to help him with his iPhone. Hell, I might even buy one myself so that I can learn how to use it before I go teach Abdullah Badawi how to use his.

A Malaysian Murder Trial to Nowhere

A Malaysian Murder Trial to Nowhere
21 Oct, 2008

By Jed Yoong

Two years after Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu was murdered, her accusers continue to sit in a courtroom

Last Saturday it was exactly two years since a 28-year-old Mongolian translator, Altantuya Shaariibuu was executed and blown up with military explosives in a jungle on the fringe of Kuala Lumpur. And, despite what looked like a routine case in which abundant physical evidence and one confession would be enough for a guilty verdict, the trial of her three accused murderers has been droning on for nearly 18 months.

As the trial grinds on as it has for months, the elephant in the courtroom remains the deputy prime minister, Najib Tun Razak, who along with his wife, Rosmah Mansor, has so far escaped questioning or being called as a witness despite two statutory declarations and other evidence linking them to the dead woman. The questions over Najib’s involvement, or lack of it, are growing in urgency because he is now on track to become the country’s prime minister after Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi designated him last month as his successor.

The three standing trial are Abdul Razak Baginda, a 48-year-old former advisor and close friend of Najib’s, and two of Najib’s bodyguards, who were part of an elite unit specializing in protecting top political figures.

The latest twist is a set of text messages between Najib and Shafee Abdullah, who was represents Razak Baginda, according to an October 11 report on the website Malaysia Today, whose editor, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, currently is standing trial on sedition charges for accusing Najib of being part of the plot to kill Altantuya. In one piece, Raja Petra accused Rosmah of having been present when Altantuya was murdered. She has denied the charge and offered to sue Raja Petra.

One message from Shafee to Najib said: "We provided (the police) everything, including old PDAs and notebooks and a couple of bills. Nothing incriminating." Malaysia Today said the exchange raises questions if anything "incriminating" was kept from the police.

Malaysia Today also suggested that that the message exchange may indicate that Najib had abused his powers as deputy prime minister to interfere with the investigation. Najib subsequently denied that he had abused his power, told reporters the messages are "private" and refused further comment.

"Why do I need to comment? There is no abuse of power," the deputy prime minister told local reporters. ""Why should it be of major concern? The important thing is if there is abuse of power and, if you read it carefully, there is no abuse of power, period."

In any case, whatever the new revelations may be, Najib and Rosmah have remained above it all, gracing functions and appearing in feel-good articles in the government-controlled local media, dishing out platitudes on unity, friendship, integrity and economic management.

Those who exposed the more gruesome aspects of the trial like Raja Petra Kamarudin, editor of Malaysia Today, and P Balasubramaniam, a private investigator hired by Baginda to keep watch on Altantuya, have come under scrutiny. In addition to the sedition charge, Raja Petra is facing charges of criminal defamation for publishing articles on the murder while Bala has gone into hiding after being pulled into a police station to hurriedly retract a statutory declaration which, among other things, claimed that Baginda told him that Najib introduced Altantuya to him in a diamond exhibition in Hong Kong and that she enjoyed anal sex.

Local bloggers are the most vociferous champions of Altantuya. One wrote a gruesome fictional first-person account of how Altantuya may have experienced the murder.

The local media, on the other hand, have buried stories on the murder trial to the inside pages and commentaries calling for justice are rare.

The usual reason given for editors for shying away from the issue is that it is subjudice although occasionally photographs of Najib holding a machine gun or detonating a bomb, and Rosmah aiming a rifle are published in relation to stories on the Defence Ministry, which Najib also heads.

Najib has been widely reported to have been involved as defense minister in a series of unsavoury purchases of submarines, jet fighter planes and other armaments on which individuals close to him, including Razak Baginda, and the United Malays National Organisation earned vast “commissions.” There is strong circumstantial evidence that Altantuya was the translator on at least one of the series of transactions involving the submarine purchases.

There are other questions over how somehow Abdul Razak was allegedly able to involve Najib’s bodyguards in the murder without Najib’s knowledge. Abdul Razak reportedly spoke with Najib’s chief of staff to ask for someone to “do something” about Altantuya, who was harassing him for money after he attempted to end their affair. One of the two bodyguards confessed to the murder, but the confession was stricken, allegedly because the statement wasn’t cautioned. Numerous amounts of other evidence have been tossed out in the marathon case, raising suspicions that the proceedings are being drawn out to prepare for either acquittals or diminished sentences for the three, perhaps to keep them from pointing the finger at Najib.

Now the former premier, Mahathir Mohamad, has come to Najib's defence. He told The Star on Oct 18, that there is a "concerted effort" to demonise Najib. "“I faced all that before. I was labelled many things and was accused of everything," Mahathir said, referring to the countless allegations levelled against him, including fomenting judicial corruption, since he retired.

- Asia Sentinel

Do you recognise this man? He is Che Det’s Puppet

Do you recognise this man? He is Che Det’s Puppet
13 Oct, 2008

Do you recognise this man (picture below), if you were to see him on the street? You should. On the back of this man who got things for himself on a silver platter, or on the back of hefty commissions, Che Det hopes to have his last hurrah (read Zaib Ibrahim’s comments in the Malaysian Insider). It will be a return of the politics of vengeance, or better known among academics—thanks to Dr. Khoo Boo Teik— as Mahathirism (authoritarian rule via ISA and Ketuanan Melayu). We had 22+ years of it. Isn’t that already a mouthful?

Tell me, fellow Malaysians, are we itching for more of this, or do we want change.? If the results of the 12th General Elections (March 8 ) and Permatang Pauh by-election (August 26) are any indication, we rejected not only Badawi’s leadership—gee whiz, I am delighted that he has quit and will make his exit in March 2009—but also the return of authoritarianism in whatever guise, and rule by ISA.

But now if we are remain indifferent or not careful, we will get “Najibism” which will be an unmitigated disaster, because behind this man is a lethal combination of the authoritarian Che Det and the unscrupulous and mean Rosmah Mansor as “First Lady”.

The mainstream media (even Kalimullah is offering the man some advice) is already promoting him aggressively together with Muhyiddin Yassin, and Mukhriz Mahathir as UMNO Youth leader. No chance for Tengku Razaleigh and sorry for Khairy Jamaluddin. All your war chest of money won’t help, KJ!

As for MCA, MIC, and Gerakan, everything is fine. Puppet, puppet lah. What is the difference? As long as they get their share of the loot, they will go along. And Badaw? He is spared of the mess he created. A Tunship (for Datuk Seri Jeanne Abdullah too, I guess) and a very generous gratuity await him from a thankful nation.—Din Merican

http://dinmerican.wordpress.com/

Dari PP ke Parlimen ke PJ

Dari PP ke Parlimen ke PJ

30 Aug, 2008

If I were asked to write this year’s MCKK Old Boys Association dinner-concert script, it would, again, be a musical. And the musical would of course satire the latest political scenario.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The last time I ever got involved in writing a stage-play script for a MCOBA (Malay College Old Boys Association) dinner-concert was in 1996. That year we did a musical, a satire of the political scenario then. The musical opened with the late Pak Din, who played the role of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, ‘crying’ to the song of ‘It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to’. That was of course the year Mahathir cried during the Umno Assembly.

The musical was about Mahathir crying and lamenting about the rot and money politics in Umno (Money, money, money, it’s a rich man’s world), the stupidity of the Umno leaders (I don’t know much, but I know I love you), Anwar kicking out Ghafar Baba and taking over as Number Two, Tengku Razaleigh falling out with Nik Aziz and returning to Umno (Reunited and it feels so good), Rafidah and Siti Zaharah engaged in a duel, and finally Anwar getting kicked out of Umno.

Some say it was almost like a prediction and a prediction it certainly was. Everything in that musical actually happened.

If I were asked to write this year’s MCKK Old Boys Association dinner-concert script, it would, again, be a musical. And the musical would of course satire the latest political scenario. Lat Shariman would, as usual, play the role of Anwar Ibrahim, as no one can mimic Anwar better than Lat can. Rehman Rashid would probably direct the entire thing, as only he is despotic enough to control the most unruly MCOBA crowd who never turn up for concert practice on time. And who else but Dato’ Salahuddin Hashim should produce the concert.

And this would probably be what the musical would look like.

Anwar Ibrahim comes on stage to the song ‘The long and winding road’.

The long and winding road
That leads to PJ
Will never disappear
I've seen that road before
It always leads me here
Lead me to PJ

The wild and windy night
That the rain washed away
Has left a pool of tears crying for the day
Why leave me standing here
Let me know the way

Many times I've been alone
And many times I've cried
Anyway you've always know
The many ways I've tried

But still they lead me back
To the long and winding road
You left me waiting here
A long, long time ago
Don't leave me standing here
Lead me to PJ
Da, da, da, da

Then Abdullah Ahmad Badawi would make his appearance to the song ‘Yesterday’.

Yesterday
All my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they’re here to stay
Oh I believe in yesterday

Suddenly
I’m not half the man I used to be
There is Anwar hanging over me
Oh yesterday came suddenly

Why I have to go I don’t know
He wouldn’t say
I said something wrong
Now I long for yesterday

Yesterday
It was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide away
Oh I believe in yesterday

Why I have to go I don't know
He wouldn't say
I said something wrong
Now I long for yesterday

Yesterday
It was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide away
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Mm mm mm mm mm mm mm............

Then Khairy Jamaluddin would come on stage to the song ‘I’m a loser’.

I'm a loser
I'm a loser
And I'm not what I appear to be
Of all the fights I have won or have lost
There is one man I should never have crossed
Anwar’s a man in a million, my friend
I should have known he would win in the end

I'm a loser
And I lost something that's near to me
I'm a loser
And I'm not what I appear to be

Although I laugh and I act like a clown
Beneath this mask I am wearing a frown
My tears are falling like rain from the sky
Is it for him or myself that I cry

I'm a loser
And I lost something that's near to me
I'm a loser
And I'm not what I appear to be

What have I done to deserve such a fate?
I realise I have left it too late
And so it's true, pride comes before a fall
I'm telling you so that you won't lose all

I'm a loser
And I lost something that's near to me
I'm a loser
And I'm not what I appear to be

And this will be the song, ‘Get Back’, that will accompany Najib when he comes on stage.

Anwar was a man I thought would be a loser
Never knew it couldn't last
Anwar left his home in PP, Pulau Pinang
Now he’s headed for PJ

Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back Anwar

Go home
Get back, get back
Back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back
Back to where you once belonged
Get back Nwar

Datin Rosmah Mansor thought she was a woman
But she was another man
All the boys around her say she's got it coming
But she gets it while she can

Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back Anwar

Ah, get back
Yeah, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Yeah get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back, Ooo

And what would a musical be without Mahathir appearing on stage to the song ‘Nowhere man’?

He's a real nowhere man
Sitting in his nowhere land
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody

Doesn't have a point of view
Knows not where he's going to
Isn't he a bit like you and me?

Nowhere man, please listen
You don't know what you're talking
Nowhere man, the world’s not at your command

He's a blind as he can be
Just sees what he wants to see
Nowhere man can you see me at all?

Nowhere man, don't worry
Take your time, don't hurry
Leave it all till somebody else lends you a hand

Doesn't have a point of view
Knows not where he's going to
Isn't he a bit like you and me?

Nowhere man, please listen
You don't know what you're talking
Nowhere man, the world’s not at your command

He's a real nowhere man
Sitting in his nowhere land
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody

Anwar Faces Malaysia Vote With Shaky Party Alliance (Update1)

Anwar Faces Malaysia Vote With Shaky Party Alliance (Update1)

By Soraya Permatasari and Ranjeetha Pakiam

Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, fighting criminal charges of having illegal sex with a man, probably will win a seat in parliament today. His plan to topple Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi may not be so easily accomplished.

``Don't underestimate this by-election,'' Anwar said yesterday. The district of Permatang Pauh's 58,459 voters ``will determine history.''

Emboldened by victories in March elections, Anwar has pledged to take power by Sept. 16 by attracting ruling-coalition lawmakers to join his three-party alliance, which promises to scrap Malaysia's system of preferences for ethnic Malays.

Abdullah has tried to bolster his United Malays National Organisation-led coalition, in power since independence in 1957, by wooing an Islamist member of Anwar's alliance with government positions. Abdullah's party argues that eliminating the preferences would threaten Islamic unity in the multiracial and multireligious country.

Anwar's coalition of secular rights activists and Islamists ``was a rather unholy alliance from the start,'' said Ooi Kee Beng, an analyst at Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Keeping it together ``is a much bigger challenge than the sodomy'' charge.

Anwar led his People's Justice Party, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party and the secular Democratic Action Party to power in five of Malaysia's 13 states in the March elections. They fell 30 seats short of ousting Abdullah's coalition from the 222-seat federal parliament.

Islamic State

PAS, as the Islamic party is known, wants Malaysia to be an Islamic state. The DAP, pointing to the almost 40 percent of the population who are Christians, Buddhists and Hindus, opposes that. Despite their differences PAS and DAP leaders have appeared at rallies for Anwar's campaign and said they are committed to their alliance.

``I'm not disputing the fact that there are issues to be resolved,'' Anwar said at a press conference yesterday. ``But what is paramount is that we are here together as a team.''

Polling stations in the district opened at 8 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. local time. Results are expected by 6 p.m. Arif Shah Omar Shah, the 52-year-old candidate for the UMNO-led coalition, and independent Islamist Hanafi Hamat, 61, are the other contenders.

Anwar's Birthplace

The district, where Anwar was born 61 years ago, elected him to Parliament four times when he was an UMNO member. His lowest vote share was 70 percent.

Accompanied by his wife and wearing a traditional Malay hat, Anwar today gave a thumbs-up sign before placing his vote in the ballot box.

Outside, some 500 opposition and government supporters jeered and shouted at each other from opposite sides of a road. Anwar's followers chanted ``reformasi,'' the Malay word for reform. About 50 policemen and riot squad trucks stood by.

Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, won the seat three times while Anwar was ineligible for office due to earlier convictions on charges of sodomy and interfering with police inquiries. The earlier sodomy conviction was overturned in 2004. His wife vacated the seat last month so he could compete in today's election to reclaim it.

Anwar says the new sodomy charge and the earlier one are both part of conspiracies to prevent him from taking power. The government insists he will have a fair trial.

Video Screening

It is a crime in Malaysia for men to have sex with each other under a law that bars sodomy, defined as ``carnal intercourse against the order of nature.'' Violations are punishable by as much as 20 years in prison.

``Anwar's name is tainted,'' Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said at an UMNO rally two days ago in the district. ``Is this the kind of person we want as a leader?''

A video of Anwar's 23-year-old accuser swearing on the Koran that the politician sodomized him has been screened regularly at UMNO's headquarters in the district, 370 kilometers (230 miles) north of Kuala Lumpur.

Voters rejected similar character attacks on Anwar in the March elections, Ooi said, predicting a victory for him. ``If Anwar loses this, he's lost everything,'' Ooi said.

In a final campaign speech before midnight yesterday, Anwar told a rain-soaked crowd of at least 7,000 that victory was vital.

``It's now or never,'' he said, before singing the first two lines of the song popularized by Elvis Presley.

He reiterated a pledge to cut gasoline prices, promised a stronger economy, and criticized the National Front coalition, which is called Barisan Nasional in Malay.

``During our campaign, you heard the words ``economy, economy, economy,'' but all the BN machinery does is keep harping on the words, ``sodomy, sodomy, sodomy,'''' Anwar said.

Najib, who led the coalition's campaign, addressed a crowd of several hundred and repeated his attack on Anwar's integrity.

``He has got no moral high ground,'' Najib said at his party's Permatang Pauh headquarters late yesterday. ``We do. Let us go home tonight and pray.''

Najib: Muslim by birth, Hindu by practice

Najib: Muslim by birth, Hindu by practice
23 Aug, 2008

Thagarajoo, Nallakaruppan’s one-time driver, swears he brought Mr. Ji to Najib’s house every month to perform Hindu prayers and rituals. And it appears it is still going on until today. Does that, therefore, render Najib’s oath, performed the so-called 'proper' Islamic way, null and void?

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Malaysia Today

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on Friday night swore in Masjid Jamek Guar Perahu near here (Permatamg Pauh) that he did not know or had any connection with Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaarribuu who was murdered in 2006 in Puncak Alam, Selangor. Najib said he was making the swearing although it was not an official swearing made on the Quran.

"Wallahi, Wabillahi, Watallahi (With Allah as my witness) I swear I do not know or have any connection with the Mongolian woman. I do not know if others want to swear or not but I know I did no wrong. This is between me and God," he said. (Bernama, 23 August 2008)

That same day, Thagarajoo a/l Thangavellu also swore, through a Statutory Declaration, that Najib and his wife, who may be born Muslims, are practicing Hindus. Would, therefore, Najib’s oath, performed the so-called ‘proper’ Islamic way, be valid after all?

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