Private investigator P. Balasubramaniam created shock waves yesterday when he made public his statutory declaration (SD) linking Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak with the murdered Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu, with several astounding assertions about the relationship conveyed to him by both Altantuya and Abdul Razak Baginda.

Today, Balasubramaniam created a second round of shock waves when within 24 hours he retracted his statutory declaration with a second statutory declaration, claiming that he was forced to make his earlier declaration under duress.

The initial public reaction to Balasubramaniam’s second SD is one of shock and disgust, with some dismissing and condemning the episode as a “Plague on both houses”!

Serious-minded Malaysians however cannot have the luxury of ignoring the SD acrobatics of Balasubramaniam as at stake are very grave issues about the integrity of the system of justice and good governance, the reputation of powerful office-holders and ordinary people(both dead and living).

As the initial feelings of shock and disgust settle down, it emerges that Subramaniam has done the impossible – making more Malaysians believe in his first SD by his second SD of retraction. Read the rest of this entry »