The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is very naïve to think that his FAQ on his blog would put to rest queries about the motives for the murder of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu nine years ago.
It would in fact have the opposite effect – firing up anew questions why there had been a “conspiracy of silence” in the past nine years by the relevant authorities and persons involved to avoid inquiring as to the motives for Altantunya’s murder.
The contention in Najib’s FAQ on Altantunya’s murder that the nine-year-old case had been “investigated, tried and concluded in the Federal Court” and two persons had been found guilty of the crime of carrying out the heinous deed of killing Altantunya can be no acceptable arguments as to why there should not now be a full-scale inquiry into two public interest questions:
• Who ordered Altantuya to be killed; and • Whether there had been a nine-year “conspiracy of silence” involving the Police, the Attorney-General and the judiciary as well as others to avoid probing into the motives for the killing of Altantuya.
Both these questions are not academic but very live, relevant and pertinent questions affecting national and international confidence in the integrity and professionalism of national institutions and the rule of law in the country, as well as the credibility and reputation of the Prime Minister.
All right-thinking and patriotic Malaysians are of one mind – that the conviction of two former special commandos Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar for the murder of Altantunya had left behind the biggest “Whodunnit” mystery in the nation’s history: Who ordered Altantuya to be killed?
In his FAQ on Altantuya’s murder, Najib said:
“What is important is that the judgment brings justice to everyone, most importantly to the family of the victim, to the accused and even to me.”
Najib cannot be more wrong. The Federal Court judgment in January convicting and passing death sentence on Azila and Sirul had not brought justice to Altantuya’s family and the two accused.
Is Najib prepared to make available facilities to Altantuya’s family and the two accused for them to state whether they accept that the Federal Court judgement had finally brought “justice” to them?
I do not believe Najib is prepared to make such facilities available to Altantuya’s family or the two special police commandos, for he knows that Altantuya’s family as well as the two convicted and their families would be shouting “foul” to high heavens that the Federal Court judgment had not brought “justice” at all.
In fact, the Federal Court judgment had not even brought justice to Najib himself, which is why four months after the Federal Court judgment, he is still haunted and hounded by the issue to the extent that he had to do an unprecedented act, a Prime Minister resorting to a FAQ in his blog to clear his name.
Unless a satisfactory answer is found, Najib must be psychologically prepared for Altantuya’s murder to dog him for the rest of his public life. Najib said he had stated many times that he had nothing to do with Altantuya’s murder and he had even made Sumpah Laknat.
It is Najib who is doing himself a great injustice, and the question uppermost in everyone’s mind is why he is opposed to a full inquiry as to who had ordered Altantuya’s murder since he had reiterated that he did not know Altantuya and was not involved directly or indirectly in the Mongolian’s murder.
If Najib is really concerned about “justice” for himself, he should order a full investigation as to who had ordered Altantuya’s murder and why there had been a nine-year “conspiracy of silence” to avoid finding the answer to this crucial question.
Najib said it is “unfair to force me to investigate this case again and demand to know who, if anyone, had ordered the killing”.
He said: “I am not involved and do not know anything about it. The court has determined who was guilty of the murder. That should be the end of the story.”
Najib should accept the reality that the Federal Court judgment is not the “end of the story” and it is not “unfair” for Malaysians to demand that there should be an investigation into the case again and demand to know “who, if anyone, had ordered the killing”.
Accepting Najib’s claim that he was not involved in Altantuya’s murder and did not know anything about it, is he prepared to allow Parliament to decide whether there should be a Royal Commission of Inquiry with two terms of reference: (i) Who ordered Altantuya to be killed; and (II) Whether there was a nine-year “conspiracy of silence” involving the Police, the Attorney-General and the judiciary as well as others to avoid probing into the motives for the killing of Altantuya?
These two issues are public interest questions and has nothing to do with Tun Mahathir’s campaign to demand that Najib resign as Prime Minister.
Even if Mahathir should come around to the view that it is all right for UMNO and the country for Najib to continue as Prime Minister, these questions still cry out for answer.