In my media statement of 21st March 2015, I said: “The mastermind of UMNO’s ‘UG’ (Unity Government between UMNO and PAS) conspiracy achieved an unexpected coup within a year when the Kelantan hudud enactment question completely drowned out all the issues currently haunting UMNO and the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak – the 1MDB scandal; Anwar Ibrahim’s five-year jailing; Mongolian Altantunya Shaariibuu’s 2006 murder and conviction of two former police commandos Azila Hadri and Sirul Azhar with motives neither established nor pursued; the new jet for PM; the lavish spending on wedding of Najib’s daughter and above all, Najib’s survival as Prime Minister and UMNO President”.
Yes, the hudud trap and issue has come to the aid of Najib by seemingly drowning out all the grave injustices and scandals in the country, but Najib should realise that these injustices and scandals cannot lay hidden for long or forever, so long as they remained unrectified.
This is why “the ghost of Altantunya rides again” when former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir has finally included it as among the scandals which have caused Najib to lose the trust of Malaysians, predicting that the ruling UMNO/Barisan Nasional will lose the next polls if the UMNO president remains in power.
The judiciary, the Attorney-General and the Inspector-General of Police have all been guilty of first-degree dereliction of duty when they ignored the “elephant in the room” in the Altantuya murder case when they should have known that the two former police commandos, Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar could not have killed the Mongolian whom they did not know, without a motive and a mastermind!
Their dereliction of duty were all the more heinous and inexcusable when they should have known about Sirul’s first statement to the police on 9th November 2006, where he admitted that he was carrying out instructions when he killed Altantuya.
Now Mahathir has joined the growing national and international chorus demanding that the whole truth about the cold-blooded Altantunya murder in 2006 should be uncovered, with Sirul revealing in an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini last month that he had merely acted under orders and that those with the motive to kill the Mongolian national are still at large.
Mahathir has rightly pointed out the injustice of the Altantuya murder case when he said:
“Apart from (Prime Minister) Najib (Abdul Razak) dismissing the claims as ‘rubbish’, there was no investigation.
“This is a human life. It would be very cruel for Sirul to die for just following orders.”
In fact, Najib’s dismissal of Sirul’s claim that he acted under orders in Altantuya’s murder by claiming that it was “utter rubbish” and “total rubbish” were most suspicious, rash and imprudent, as it immediately invited the question as to how Najib could know there were no such orders to Sirul and Azila.
While Najib could claim that he had not personally issued such an order, how could he be sure that no such order was issued by someone else? Could Najib explain?
That Sirul and Azila had murdered Altantunya and blow up her body by using C4 explosive was virtually admitted by Sirul when he as good as made a confession from Australia, saying: “If I die today, I would not find peace. I did what I was told and this is what I get in return.” The good name of Malaysia and international repute of our administration of justice demand that the motive and mastermind of Altantuya’s murder nine years ago must be pursued and uncovered.
I suggest that the nation send the two former Prime Ministers, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah on a national mission to Australia to find out from Sirul the motive and mastermind for Altantuya’s murder in 2006 and to report to Parliament on their findings, including what should be done to Sirul and Azila, both with death sentences hanging over them although Sirul has absconded to Australia.