PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak has urged former corporal Sirul Azhar Umar to "reveal everything" the latter knows about the purported mastermind behind the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu.
This comes after an Al-Jazeera interview aired on Friday, where Sirul, a former police commando, refused to name the "top politician" who he claimed issued the order to kill Altantuya.
Sirul also said in the interview that he received an undisclosed sum from unnamed sources to keep silent on the Altantuya case during his detention in Australia by its Immigration Department.
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"Najib categorically denies any allegations of seeking to influence or silence Sirul.
"In fact, he urges Sirul to be brave and to disclose any information he may have regarding the purported mastermind, in the interest of uncovering the truth, transparency, and justice,” read a statement released by Najib’s lawyers, Shafee & Co, on his behalf Saturday (Nov 25) evening.
Meanwhile, Najib’s counsel asserted that their client had been exonerated of being involved in Altantuya’s murder multiple times by the courts over the years.
This includes the Federal Court, which ruled in 2020 that former chief inspector Azilah Hadri’s attempt to implicate Najib in the case "lacked substance both in procedure and merit".
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Najib has consistently denied any involvement in Altantuya’s murder, and has also repeatedly denied that he knew or had met Altantuya.
"Despite this, recent statements in the interview imply a vague assertion that our client exerts interference or influence over Sirul, purportedly to protect our client - a narrative quite different from that of (former chief inspector) Azilah Hadri, further fortifying the inconsistent stance taken by both individuals,” his lawyers said.
They also pointed out that Sirul was given the chance to defend himself in court over this case, and yet he never brought up these claims during the process, despite facing the death penalty.
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The statement also said contrary to media reports that often described Sirul and Azilah as Najib’s personal bodyguards, the fact of the matter is that the duo were actually part of a pool of bodyguards rotated or shared among the top leadership in the Cabinet at the time.
To ensure a comprehensive investigation into Sirul’s new claims, Najib has requested the government engage Australian authorities to facilitate Sirul’s extradition back to Malaysia.
"To support this, our client suggests the government could offer assurances against the imposition of the death penalty to facilitate the broader objective of truth and justice," read the statement.
Altantuya was murdered in October 2006 and her remains were blown up with military-grade explosives.
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Former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda was also charged together with the duo for the Altantuya murder, but he was freed on Oct 31, 2008 after the court did not find solid proof against him.
Sirul and Azilah were convicted of the murder in 2009, but the Court of Appeal overturned the conviction in 2013.
Sirul then fled to Australia during the prosecution’s appeal and spent the next nine years in Australian detention.
During that time, the Federal Court upheld the conviction and reinstated the death penalty, which made it difficult for the government to extradite Sirul as Australian law forbids the extradition of foreigners to countries where they face the death penalty.
Sirul was recently released from Australia’s Immigration detention when an Australian High Court ruled on Nov 8 that non-citizens unable to be deported could no longer be detained indefinitely.
