When the heinous murder and the mysterious disappearance of Saudi Arabian journalist, Jamal Kashoggi in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul hit the world headlines early this month, the first person I thought of was Altantnya Shaariibuu, who was murdered and whose remains destroyed with C4 explosives in Shah Alam on Oct. 16 twelve years ago.
The ghost of Altantunya Shaariibuu will continue to haunt former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Malaysia until there is a full and satisfactory investigation as to the motive for the heinous murder of the Mongolian murder and the real murders brought to justice.
Home Minister Tan Sri Muhytiddin Yassin told Parliament yesterday that the police will take appropriate action against Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor if the couple is implicated in the murder of Altantuya.
He was responding to Monday’s speech by the DAP MP for Bukit Gelugor Ramkarpal Singh in the debate on the Mid-Term Review of the 11th Malaysia Plan on the revelations made by businessperson Deepak Jaikishan on the Altantunya murder in a recent recording which was uploaded online.
Although Deepak’s video recording had since been deleted from the Internet, it should pose no difficulty for the police to locate the video which is making the rounds on the social media in the last few days, and most important of all, the police can get confirmation from Deepak himself on the authenticity of the video.
As Ramkarpal told Parliament on Monday, Deepak had clearly stated that Najib and Rosmah were involved in the murder of Altantuya.
In fact, at stake is not just the reputation of Najib and Rosmah, but Malaysia’s international repute and standing as a developed and civilized society where the rule of law and justice prevail in the country, where people do not disappear for no rhyme or reason or got murdered for no motives.
In view of Deepak’s video recording, accusing Najib and Rosmah of being involved in the murder of Altantunya Shaariibuu, are both of them going to surrender themselves to the police for a re-opening of investigation into the motive for the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu?
Instead of submitting to the rule of law and justice, whether on the Altantunya murder or the 1MDB “kleptocracy at its worst”, Najib is clearly trying to obstruct the course of justice with his statement yesterday urging the Pakatan Harapan government to stop finding fault with him and his past administration, and focus instead on saving the country’s economy.
Is Najib suggesting that Pakatan Harapan should not re-open investigation into the Altantunya murder to establish its motive, something which the Najib premiership failed to do, or to get to the to the bottom of the 1MDB scandal?
The past five days had been Najib’s worst five days in his public life.
Last Friday, October 26, 2018, Najib’s house of cards propping up his claim that the international 1MDB corruption and money-launderintg scandal was fake news and a concocted international conspiracy by his political enemie to topple him from power collapsed when Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel Ahmad Al-Jubeir met the Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and denied that Najib’s infamous RM2.6 billion in his personal bank accounts had come from Riyadh.
But the damage to Najib of this Saudi Arabian denial was nothing compared to Najib’s disgraceful interview with Al Jazeera, where Najib staged a walk-out after he was unable to answer with credibiility and authority difficult questions which the Al Jazeera interviewer, Mary Ann Joley, had put to Najib, whether on the 1MDB scandal; the RM2.6 billion donation in his personal banking account; Rosmah Mansor’s 22-carat US$27.3 million pink diamond necklace; more than US$200 million transferred into the account of his stepson Rizal Aziz; fugitive financier Jho Low; his 38 criminal charges of corruption, criminal breach of trust and money laundering or the murder of Altantunya Shaariibuu, and the interview was telecast worldwide on Saturday, October 27, 2018.
Najib’s Al Jazeera interview was particularly damaging as it served as concrete proof as to why the 4 million voters who had voted for UMNO/Barisan Nasional in the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018 were very wrong in supporting a global kleptocracy, kakistocracy and rogue democraccy and why they should join the 5.6 million voters who voted for Pakatan Harapan to build a New Malaysia which is a leading nation of integrity and world top class nation and model of an united, progressive and democratic society.
Yesterday, worse was to come for Najib. At the Anti-Corruption Summit 2018 in Kuala Lumpur, there were three blows to the solar plexus, viz:
· Dismissal by the Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad of allegations that Najib’s 38 criminal charges of corruption, criminal breach of trust and money-laundering were politically motivated, as they are based on investigations by enforcement agencies tracing the 1MDB money and where it had gone through.
· Revelation by Tan Sri Abu Kassim, the head of National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption (GIACC) and former Chief Commissioner of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) that the MACC had in 2015 found that Najib’s claim that the RM2.6 billion he received was a donation from Saudi Arabian royalty to be false after a meeting with Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and United States Department of Justice in Washington; and
· Announcement by the Attorney-General Tommy Thomas that the Malaysian Government would challenge the US$5.78 billion consent award granted to Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company or Aabar Investments PJS as Malaysia’s 1MDB was defrauded by Najib and against public policy.
In his disastrous Al Jazeera interview, Najib had indirectly admitted to the moral, economic and political catastrophes of the 1MDB scandal.
Is Najib prepared to spare the country from further pain, agonies and sufferings and co-operate with the various investigative agencies by “Telling All” whether on the 1MDB scandal or the Altantuya murder?
(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Parliament on Wednesday, October 31, 2018)