Justice For ALTANTUYA

[kensington]

Altantuya suit will go on, Karpal vows

By Debra Chong


The family of murdered Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu will get their day in court, veteran lawyer Karpal Singh told reporters today.

Karpal, who is representing the family in a RM100 million civil suit against the Malaysian government, was responding to a news report earlier this week claiming the family was struggling to pay the RM60,000 security costs needed to proceed with the case.

“I’m surprised by the report... I think it’s just a misunderstanding,” Karpal exclaimed.

News portal Malaysiakini cited Altantuya’s father, Dr Shaariibuu Setev saying he had failed to obtain sufficient financial aid from the Mongolian government to fund his family’s suit against Putrajaya and Altantuya’s ex-lover, former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, who was also a confidante of Datuk Seri Najb Razak, then the deputy prime minister.

“It seems, our family is going to be a victim again due to the security cost,” Malaysiakini reported Dr Shaariibuu saying.

His family initially had to pay a RM1.25 million security bond to the Shah Alam High Court in order to sue the Federal government and Abdul Razak, whom they hold responsible for Altantuya’s unnatural death four years ago.

The mother of two was blown to bits by explosives and her remains found four years ago in a jungle clearing in Shah Alam.

Two police special action squad officers, former bodyguards for Najib, were tried for Altantuya’s murder, found guilty and sentenced to hang for the crime two years ago.

Abdul Razak was also tried as an accomplice to the murder but acquitted.

Altantuya’s family is seeking compensation.

In March this year, the high court lowered the security costs to RM60,000 but Dr Shaariibuu, a former professor and the family’s breadwinner allegedly earning the equivalent of RM625 a month, was reported to be unable to pay even that sum.

The DAP chairman said the Mongolian Foreign Affairs office had contacted him a week ago to tell him they would finance Dr Shaariibuu’s suit, and he had followed up with a phone call just two days ago.

Karpal explained that the RM60,000 needed to be deposited with the Shah Alam High Court before the end of the month or the suit will be dismissed.

He added that a further RM10,000 was required to pay for the costs of the application against Putrajaya and Abdul Razak, which brings the total amount to RM70,000.

The opposition leader promised “the case will go on at any cost.”

“We will raise funds. I will get the Members of Parliament in Pakatan Rakyat to pay,” Karpal who is also Bukit Gelugor MP vowed.

“We want Altantuya’s case to be taken to its logical end,” he added.

Karpal drew a comparison between Altantuya’s case to the equally high-profile case of former American footballer O.J. Simpson, who was similarly implicated in the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson.

While he was cleared of the charge in a criminal court, he was ordered to pay compensation to her family by a civil court after being found responsible for her death.

 

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French Lawyer Looks for Answers for Scandal in Kuala Lumpur

Joseph Breham, one of a team of lawyers looking into allegations of corruption in a Malaysian submarine purchase from a French defense conglomerate, told reporters in Kuala Lumpur Wednesday that he had filed a 10-page inquiry with the French courts that calls into question the actions of a company with close ties to the Malaysian Prime Minister's best friend and aide, Abdul Razak Baginda.

Breham is also expected to question several witnesses in Kuala Lumpur about the case, which has broken into the open after years of silence in Malaysia. The inquiry, which now rests with independent French prosecutors, is directed at a €114 million (US$151.1 million) commission paid to a company called Perimekar, which Breham's legal team suggests was established in 2001 purely for the purpose of receiving the kickback. Najib Tun Razak, then Malaysia's defense minister, led the negotiations with the French government to buy the two Scorpene-class submarines, build by Armaris, a subsidary of the French defense giant DCN, and to lease a third a few months later, in 2002.

Political reformers in Malaysia say they are placing their hopes on the French investigation to get to the bottom of the payment to Perimekar and its implications because, they say, there is little hope that the Malaysian justice system will bring the truth to light. Despite repeated requests for information by opposition leaders in Malaysia's parliament, Najib and other top members of the government have refused to answer.

Cynthia Gabrial, who sits on the board of directors of the human rights NGO Suaram, for whom Breham and his colleagues are acting, told Asia Sentinel that "whoever's guilty must be punished, and if it has the be the French court system that actually brings this issue to surface, then so be it."

It isn't likely that anybody will get any answers soon, however. The Perimekar episode goes well beyond Malaysia and is believed to be just a part of years of peddling defense equipment including submarines to countries across the globe by DCN.

Investigating judges looking into some parts of the French establishment have been stalled for years by their inability to obtain defense secrets, partly because of a suspicion that they are related to top figures in French politics. In the past allegations have arisen that sought to ensnare such figures as Edouard Balladur, who ran against President Jacques Chirac, and Nicholas Sarkozy, now the French president, who was Balladur's campaign manager.

Perimekar, according to the Malaysian government, was paid by DCN for "coordination and support services" during the submarine negotiations. But Breham and Suaram say it's highly unlikely the company had the ability to carry out such a role.

"Perimekar was created only in 2001, a few months before the submarine contract was definitely signed," Breham told the press conference. "This means that Perimekar has no experience at all in submarine deals, has no experience in logistics, has no experience in nothing regarding submarines."

"Perimekar until this contract had never had any contract with any company. The only thing Perimekar had done until this signature of the €114 million contract was lose RM75,000 (US$23,310) in 2002. That was the only thing Perimekar had ever done," Breham said.

Breham said the French prosecution is particularly concerned about the fact that Razak Baginda's wife, Mazalinda, was the principal shareholder of KS Ombak Laut Sdn Bhd, which owned Perimekar. He said he hopes the inquiry will answer where the money for the commission came from, where exactly the money went, and if the money stayed in Malaysia.

Perimekar appears to have been subsumed into another company, Boustead DCNS, a joinrbenture between Boustead's parent company and DCNS, SA, the Frnch defense company. In its annual report, Boustead Heavy Industries described Perimekar as an "associate of the Group" that is "involved in the marketing, upgrading, maintenance and related services for the Malaysian maritime defence industry."

The inquiry is now at a preliminary stage, Breham said. If the French prosecution finds that the questionable elements surrounding the commission payment to Perimekar warrant further investigation, it will pass the case on to an 'instruction judge' who will conduct a deeper inquiry that could last for years. For instance, a similar corruption case involving DCN and the sale of frigate to Taiwan has dragged on for more than 10 years, Breham said. Then, if the judicial power believes there is sufficient evidence of corruption, the case will move to trial phase.

The scandal began to come to the surface in 2006 with the gruesome murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a Mongolian translator and spurned lover of Razak Baginda who had accompanied him to France for some of the transactions over the submarines. Altantuya was shot in the head and her body was blown up with military explosives in a patch of jungle outside of Kuala Lumpur. Two of Najib's bodyguards, who were directed to intercede with her by Musa Safri, Najib's chief of staff, have been convicted of the killing. Neither Najib nor Musa has ever been questioned by law enforcement officials about the case. Razak Baginda was tried along with Najib's two bodyguards but was acquitted without having to put on a defense in a trial that left more questions than answers. Immediately after his acquittal, Razak Baginda left the country for England, where he remains.

Breham said the French jurisdiction cannot consider the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu in its investigation. "The only thing that France's jurisdiction will delve into is corruption."

 

[kensington]

French probe: New names emerge, focus Perimekar, Altantuya


Wong Choon Mei
Malaysia Chronicle

It looks like private investigator P Balasubramaniam has done it again. In 2008, he shocked the nation with an explosive statutory declaration implicating Prime Minister Najib Razak, his wife Rosmah Mansor and their friend Razakk Baginda in the Altantuya murder and Scorpene submarines kickback case.

In 2009, he emerged after 15 months in hiding and told of how it was Najib’s younger brother, Nazim, who offered him RM5 million to retract his statement and flee the country immediately.

Now in 2010, Bala tells his countrymen how French prosecutors sought information from him in relation to the two submarines that Najib ordered from French arms giant DCNS when he was still the defense minister in 2002.

Two new names?

Going through the 19-point statement that Bala wrote himself, it appears the French authorities were quite meticulous in their interview. Bala’s own background and credibility was checked and tested before moving into other areas of questioning.

Two names that did not appear in the 2008 statutory declaration emerged on Monday – Major Rahim and Abdul Rahim bin Saad. The French wanted to know the identity of the two Malaysians, their background and involvement. Bala did not say if he knew them, or told the French about them, or if it was the French themselves who brought up the names to check if he knew of them.

But judging from the sequence of the questioning, it is likely that Major Rahim and Abdul Rahim are linked to the Scorpenes purchase, which the French authorities are probing to find if it is true that DCNS had paid a kickback to Razak Baginda’s firm Perimekar.

Baginda is a close friend of the Malaysian leader and Perimekar was awarded a 114 million euros or RM570 million co-ordination and support services deal as part of an overall RM6.7 billion acquisition package. There are rampant accusations that this contract was tantamount to a kickback to Najib.Following his refusal to initiate a probe, civil rights group SUARAM lodged a complaint in Paris on behalf of Malaysian taxpayers against DCNS. The Malaysian complaint gave impetus to the French probe.

Perimekar

At Monday's interview, Bala said the French also focused on Razak Baginda’s relationship with Najib, certain information and events that Baginda had told him about, including an SMS Najib sent to Baginda when the latter was arrested for abetting the Altantuya murder. Baginda was controversially acquitted and discharged without his defense being called.

The French prosecutors also spent time on Perimekar, its ownership, the sort of business it does and its link to Baginda and the PM. They also wanted to know about the financial payments Baginda made to Altantuya including three US$5,000 remittances, the apartment he bought for her in Mongolia and the US$500,000 share of commission she claimed was due to her.

Bala said the French prosecutors questioned the basis for Altantuya's demand, was it related to the Scorpenes, her role in the acquisition negotiations as well as Baginda’s “confirmation” that “he should have paid Altantuya the money”.

Altantuya and her cousin Ammy

The prosecutors also asked Bala for the identity of French individuals involved in the deal and whether they had made payments to Perimekar.

Ammy, Altantuya's cousin

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Very interestingly, the French prosecutors also asked for information concerning Altantunya’s cousin Ammy, who purportedly has knowledge of a dinner Najib had together with Baginda and Altantuya when the trio was in Paris at the same time. It gives rise to speculation that the French police may be able to uncover information linking the Malaysian PM to Altantuya.

But that was not all. French prosecutors also questioned Bala on the Altantunya murder and he briefed them on the events leading up to and after the killing. They also asked about the two police officers – former bodyguards to Najib and Rosmah – who have since been convicted of the murder. The identity of other people.present on the night of the murder and their links to Baginda or the PM was also scrutinized.

“The French investigator appeared to be very familiar with the events in Malaysia relating to the Altantunya murder. The interview however centered on the Scorpene submarines deal and the alleged commission paid in connection with that,” Bala said in his statement.

Last but not least,there was Najib’s wife – Rosmah Mansor. Bala told of how Rosmah had teamed up with her carpet trader friend Deepak to exile him from Malaysia. He also told the French prosecutors about the threats made to his family, the involvement of the PM’s brother, Nazim, and the events that led to the second statutory declaration which he has said was signed under duress. The second statutory declaration was aimed at negating the first and exonerating Najib and Rosmah from any involvement.

Related Stories:

* # VIDEO The Nov 2009 Bala Interview: Coming out of Hiding and Nazim Razak...
* FINAL UPDATE PM, Rosmah, Baginda, Deepak mentioned in Bala's French probe...

http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/2010/07/french-probe-focus-on-perimekar-also.html

 

[kensington]

Written by Gavin M. Greenwood and John Berthelsen
Monday, 22 November 2010

Torpedoes Running!

Questions over the sale of French-built Scorpène submarines to militaries across the world may finally ensnare some of France’s highest-ranking leaders.

They include former French President Jacques Chirac, former Prime Ministers Dominique de Villipin and Edouard Balladur and the country’s current president, Nicholas Sarkozy in addition to an unknown number current and former French defense executives. In addition, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak should be starting to get nervous, along with officials in India, Chile and Brazil.

Lawyers for the families of 11 French engineers killed in a 2002 bomb attack in Karachi were quoted Friday as saying they would file a manslaughter suit against Chirac, allegedly because he cancelled a bribe to Pakistani military officials in the sale of three Agosta 90-class submarines to that country’s navy. Sarkozy was Minister of the Budget when the government sold the subs, built by the French defense giant DCN (later known as DCNS) to Pakistan for a reported US$950 million.

Prosecutors allege that Pakistani politicians and military officials and middlemen received large “commissions” with as much as €2 million in kickbacks routed back to Paris to fund Balladur's unsuccessful 1995 presidential campaign against Chirac. As budget minister, Sarkozy would have authorized the financial elements of the submarine sale. At the time he was the spokesman for Balladur’s presidential campaign and, according to French media, has been accused of establishing two Luxemburg companies to handle the kickbacks.

It is alleged that when Chirac was re-elected, the president canceled the bribes to the Pakistanis, which resulted in the revenge attack on a vehicle in which the French engineers and at least three Pakistanis were riding. For years, the Pakistanis blamed the attack on fundamentalist Islamic militants, including Al Qaeda.

“Our complaint is going to target how the decision was arrived at to stop the commissions,” Morice told AFP, saying the suit was prompted by recent testimony from arms executives in the case. Morice also called for Sarkozy, who witnesses have told investigators was linked to the bribes, to be questioned. The French president angrily denounced the allegations. As president, he has immunity and can refuse to be questioned while in office.

Nonetheless, l'affaire Karachi, as it is widely known in France, has been called the most explosive corruption investigation in recent French history, according to AFP. It may well be far bigger than just the unpaid bribes to the Pakistanis. Executives of DCNS embarked on a global marketing drive to sell the diesel-electric Scorpène-class subs, a new design. They peddled two to the Chilean Navy in 1997, breaking into the market previously dominated by HDN of Germany.

DCNS also sold six Scorpènes in 2005 with the option for six other boats, to India, whose defense procurement agency has been involved in massive bribery scandals in the past. Defense Minister George Fernandes was forced to step down in 2001 after videos surfaced of procurement officials taking bribes. In 2008, Gen. Sudipto Ghosh, the chairman of the Ordnance Factory Board, was arrested and seven foreign companies were barred from doing business in India as a result of a bribery scandal.

In 2008, DCNS also won a bid to supply four Scorpènes to Brazil. DCNS is to provide the hull for a fifth boat that Brazil intends to use as a basis for developing its first nuclear-powered submarine.

DCNS sold the Scorpènes to Pakistan in 1994. At about the same time the French engineers were murdered in 2002, Malaysia placed an US1 billion order for two Scorpènes in a deal engineered by then-defense minister and Deputy Prime Minister Najib. In exchange, a company wholly owned by Najib’s close friend, Abdul Razak Baginda, was paid €114 million in “commissions,” according to testimony in the Malaysian parliament.

It is unclear why Malaysia decided to acquire the two boats. A new naval base is being built to house the two at Teluk Sepanggar in the East Malaysian state of Sabah because the waters around peninsular Malaysia are generally too shallow for optimal submarine operations. In addition, the boats were delivered without advanced navigational and weapons gear, which the Royal Malaysian Navy is acquiring at a high cost from individual suppliers.

That episode has been widely reported. Caught up in it, besides Najib and Razak Baginda, was Altantuya Shaariibuu, the Mongolian translator who was murdered in 2006 and whose body was blown up with military grade explosives. Razak Baginda, her jilted lover, was charged along with two of Najib’s bodyguards but was acquitted under unusual circumstances without having to put on a defense. Before she was murdered, Altantuya told witnesses she was to be paid US$500,000 for her role in the submarine deal.

After his release Razak Baginda immediately decamped for Oxford University and apparently hasn’t set foot in Malaysia since. On Nov. 5, Malaysian prosecutors closed the book on the case, despite statements by a private investigator that tied Najib to Altantuya’s murder.

The case, however, remains alive in France. In April, three French lawyers, William Bourdon, Renaud Semerdjian and Joseph Breham filed a case with prosecutors in Paris on behalf of the Malaysian human rights organization Suaram, which supports good-governance causes.

Breham journeyed to Malaysia later in April to interview further witnesses. In an email, Breham said he and Bourdon are returning to Southeast Asia to ask more questions next month. If the three lawyers — or any other French or Malaysian prosecutors for that matter — want a witness, Razak Baginda remains in the UK.

The efforts by prosecutors to link Sarkozy to corruption allegations in the Karachi affair may well have ramifications beyond French politics. France's commercial competitors in tightening global defense markets can also be expected to seek advantage from the affair.

The decision in mid-November by DCNS and Navantia of Spain to end their collaboration on building the Scorpène-class of boats purchased by Malaysia now make the companies commercial rivals. This seemingly bitter split may unleash new insights into past business practices, notably from the Spanish side as they seek to promote their S80 submarines against the Scorpènes. France can also expect little support from Britain, where suggestions that the two navies share aircraft carriers as a cost cutting measure have been met with a mixture of rage and derision.

Further, any revelations of systemic corruption within the French naval shipbuilding sector could present opportunities for in Britain seeking an escape from seemingly watertight contracts with French and shipyards for the construction of two large aircraft carriers.

Any investigation into corruption at the levels now underway in France is inherently unpredictable given the interests involved. What began as a ripple in Paris may yet build into a tsunami threatening individuals and plans previously thought impervious to such a threat. Questioning Abdul Razak Baginda might be a place to start.



Gavin M. Greenwood is a security consultant with the Hong Kong-based security risk management consultancy firm Allan & Associates. John Berthelsen is the editor of the Asia Sentinel.

http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2833&Itemid=178
http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/special-reports/36131-frances-sub-scandal-resurfaces

 

[kensington]

Singapore's WikiLeaks Gaffes


(Asia Sentinel) Oz papers find top Foreign Affairs ministry officials trashing the neighbors

Some of Singapore's top Foreign Affairs Ministry officials made devastating assessments of Malaysia and its leaders to senior US officials in 2008 and 2009, according to leaked US State Department cables that the WikiLeaks website made available to Australian papers.

In exclusive stories over the weekend, the trio also trashed Japan, India and Thailand, according The Sunday Age and the Sydney Morning Herald, which reported separately that Singaporean officials believed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim had been set up by the Malaysian government over the charges of sexual perversion that he is on trial for now, but that he was probably guilty.

The Sunday Age reported that Malaysia is in "dangerous decline," fueled by incompetent politicians, that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak could be prosecuted over the gruesome 2006 murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaaribuu if the ruling national coalition were to lose power, and that the situation in the country is "confused and dangerous," fueled by the distinct possibility of racial conflict that could see ethnic Chinese fleeing Malaysia to "overwhelm" Singapore.

The officials who made the comments in separate meetings with senior US officials were foreign affairs chiefs Peter Ho, Bilahari Kausikan and Tommy Koh, according to the Age article. The trio at the time occupied some of the most senior positions in Singapore's Foreign Affairs Ministry. They all gave US officials damning assessments of Malaysia, according to the stories.

Moreover, the trio said, Thailand is dogged by corruption and a ''very erratic'' crown prince, Japan is a ''big fat loser'' and India is ''stupid."

Although the newspapers speculated that the reports would raise a storm among Singapore's neighbors, Singapore's neighbors have long known of the island country's superior attitude. The quotes in the story merely ratify what is already known. It should be pointed out that Singapore, predominantly made up of ethnic Chinese, has always privately held the view that the surrounding countries have been ruled by hostile, often crooked incompetents who are mostly inferior to the technocrats who run the island republic.

Singaporean authorities have been perennially worried about a Muslim threat to their island country from both Indonesia and Malaysia, formulating the famed "poisoned shrimp" strategy that in a phrase means "swallow us and we will kill you." Singapore thus has a bigger, more modern and more competent air force than Malaysia and Indonesia combined.

''A lack of competent leadership is a real problem for Malaysia,'' Kausikan told US Deputy Secretary of Defence for East Asia David Sedney in one cable, according to the story, citing the need for Najib Razak - now Malaysia's Prime Minister - to ''prevail politically in order to avoid prosecution'' in connection with a 2006 murder investigation linked to one of Mr Razak's aides.

''Najib Razak has his neck on the line in connection with a high-profile murder case,'' Kausikan said, according to the story.

As Asia Sentinel has reported in a long series of stories since Altantuya's murder in October of 2006, Malaysia placed a US$1 billion order for two Scorpènes in a deal engineered by then-defense minister and Deputy Prime Minister Najib. In exchange, a company wholly owned by Najib's close friend, Abdul Razak Baginda, was paid €114 million in "commissions," according to testimony in the Malaysian parliament.

Caught up in it, besides Najib and Razak Baginda, was Altantuya, who was shot in the head and whose body was blown up with military grade explosives. Razak Baginda, her jilted lover, was charged along with two of Najib's bodyguards but was acquitted under unusual circumstances without having to put on a defense. Before she was murdered, Altantuya told witnesses she was to be paid US$500,000 for her role in the submarine deal.

After his release Razak Baginda immediately decamped for Oxford University and apparently hasn't set foot in Malaysia since.

The case, however, remains alive in France. In April, three French lawyers, William Bourdon, Renaud Semerdjian and Joseph Breham filed a case with prosecutors in Paris on behalf of the Malaysian human rights organization Suaram, which supports good-governance causes. In an email, Breham said he and Bourdon are expected to be in Southeast Asia to ask more questions this week. It is unclear if they will visit the Singaporean authorities.

In the Sydney Morning Herald's story on Anwar, ''The Australians said that Singapore's intelligences services and [Singaporean elder statesman] Lee Kuan Yew have told (Australia's Office of National Assessments) in their exchanges that opposition leader Anwar 'did indeed commit the acts for which he is currently indicted'.''

"The document states the Singaporeans told ONA they made this assessment on the basis of ''technical intelligence,' which is likely to relate to intercepted communications. The ONA is also recorded as saying that Anwar's political enemies engineered the circumstances from which the sodomy charges arose. "ONA assessed, and their Singapore counterparts concurred, 'it was a set-up job and he probably knew that, but walked into it anyway','' the cable states.

In Malaysian media Sunday, Anwar charged he was not guilty and that Malaysia's Special Branch was behind the story and had fed it to the Singaporeans.

In Kausikan's September 2008 meeting with Sedney, according to the story, "Kausikan savages Thailand's political elite, labelling Thaksin Shinawatra as ''corrupt'' along with ''everyone else, including the opposition." Kausikan is also critical of Thaksin's relationship with the Thai crown prince, stating that Thaksin ''made a mistake in pursuing a relationship with the crown prince by paying off the crown prince's gambling debts''.

"Kausikan said the crown prince was 'very erratic, and easily subject to influence','' the cable states, while also saying that Kausikan warned of continued instability in Thailand. The statement by Kausikan about Thailand's prince and heir apparent, Vajiralongkorn, could open him to charges of lese majeste if he were to visit the Thai kingdom.

According to the story, "in a September 2009 meeting with US officials, senior Singaporean foreign affairs official Tommy Koh savages Japan and India in relation to the impact on both countries of China's increasing regional might."

'''Koh described Japan as 'the big fat loser' in the context of improving ties between China and Asean. He attributed the relative decline of Japan's stature in the region to Japan's 'stupidity, bad leadership, and lack of vision','' the cable says, according to the story. ''He was equally merciless towards India, describing his 'stupid Indian friends' as 'half in, half out' of Asean.''

Other notable comments about regional affairs made by Kausikan in September 2008, according to the story, include his reported claims that:

* Burma's neighbors, including China and India, are ''more concerned with stability than justice'' and they feared the Burmese junta's demise could produce ''an Asian reprise of the breakup of Yugoslavia''.
* He would be ''more comfortable with a nuclear-capable North Korea than a nuclear-capable Iran''.
* Russia's economy is ''Third World'', its health system a shambles and its demographic challenges almost insurmountable.
* Koh is recorded praising China's ''investment and intelligent diplomacy in the region''. ''I don't fear China. I don't fear being assimilated by China.'' The story quotes the cable as stating that he pointed to China's decision to invest in Africa ''without lecturing them about human rights and democracy as the West does''.


---------------------------


SINGAPORE - Singapore said the latest leaked reports by whistleblower Wikileaks implicating the republic’s Foreign Affairs Ministry’s officials should not be taken out of context.

“Any communication must not be taken out of context,” Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo was quoted by local media as saying to reporters who asked him on private comments made by his senior ministry officials on foreign leaders in the region.

One of the reports published by Wikileaks today was on comments by Singapore leaders who believed that Malaysia’s former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had sex with a male aide in an entrapment set by his enemies.

The report contained in a US State Department cable dated November 2008 and given by the whistleblower to Australia’s Fairfax media group detailed intelligence gathered by Australian and Singaporean intelligence on Anwar’s case.

Yeo was also quoted as saying it was best that the confidentiality of diplomatic communication be respected, adding: “There will be more coming out in the future and ‘you said this about me and I said this about you’ and it goes on.

“That is what certain individuals said about others. There could be a diversity of views. As I said, they probably said things about me which I may not agree with.

“But that is fine, that is to be expected. If you want to hear everything which others say behind your back, and take offence at it, you will be a very unhappy person.”

Yeo added that diplomatic relations could not be done “on the basis that there is a camera in the room recording everything”, and that when that happened, “we lose something”.

He also said that sometimes it was in the nature of “cocktail talk” where “people say things in a blunt forthright way, and we should not divorce, even if true, what is said from the context”. — Bernama

 

[kensington]

Saifuddin points to WikiLeaks' Najib-Altantuya links
Harakahdaily

PETALING JAYA, Dec 13: Amid the UMNO-controlled media's frenzy over WikiLeaks's revelation of a communication between Singapore and Australian intelligences, responding on opinionated information by Malaysian police on the sodomy accusation against Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, another 'leak' conveniently hidden was Singapore officials' damaging remarks about the Malaysian government.

Responding to media reports over Singapore police's belief that Anwar "did indeed commit the sodomy act", PKR secretary general Saifuddin Nasution drew attention to another revelation quoting Singaporean foreign ministry officials who linked prime minister Najib Razak to murdered Mongolian agent Altantuya Shariibu.

The so-called 'leaked documents' said in a meeting in 2008, one Bilahari Kausikan had lamented the “lack of competent leadership" as "a real problem for Malaysia”, and suggested that Najib "prevail politically" to avoid prosecution over alleged links to Altantuya's brutal murder.

“Najib Razak has his neck on the line in connection with a high-profile murder case”, the documents quoted Kausikan as saying.

In March 2008, one Peter Ho described Najib as an opportunist and claimed that the prime minister’s political career would continue to be haunted by the murder scandal.

“As for Najib Razak, he is an opportunist. Although he has not been critical of Singapore, he will not hesitate to go in that direction if it is expedient for him to do so. Najib’s political fortunes continue to be haunted by the … murder scandal,” Ho allegedly said.

The cable also commented on former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's continuous condemnation of then prime minister Abdullah Badawi and his son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin, the current UMNO Youth leader.

"The political knives will be out for Abdullah’s son-in-law, UMNO politician Khairy Jamaluddin, whom nobody likes because he got where he is through family ties,” the documents quoted Ho.

Defending his officials, however, Singapore's foreign minister George Yeo said it was natural for such opinions to be expressed.

"If you want to hear everything which others say behind your back, and take offence at it, you will be a very unhappy person,” he added.

Saifuddin (right) said the leaked communication about Anwar should also be viewed in the context of the broad criticism of its foreign officials against Malaysia, "with nobody being spared”.

“Keadilan maintains that those views and assessments are their own personal views that do not contain any facts – otherwise Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will have a tough time explaining similarly damaging allegations against him made by the same Singaporean officials and leaked by the same set of cables,” he said, adding that a fair and just trial must be accorded to Anwar to find out the truth of the sodomy accusations against him.

Saying PKR would welcome any leaks provided they were accompanied with evidences, Saifuddin said there were more important tasks ahead.

“The bigger struggle in this nation is to restore confidence and order in the judiciary system that has been crippled by continuous emasculation by the ruling government,” he said.


http://en.harakahdaily.net/index.ph...b-altantuya-links&catid=36:headline&Itemid=70

 

[kensington]

Part II – Who killed Althantuya?

RIGHTS2WRITE


1)Many would agree with me that RPK is Raja Spin of Malaysian Internet community. However in a country of 28 mill people, the audience of these spin is a small fraction of the entire internet community. On the other hand Malaysian Government controlled media (TV and newspaper) also spins issues regularly. The real true King spinners is the government that controlled RTM, TV3 and the many news paper. They have access to almost the entire population which makes them king in their business of spin.


2)In my previous post, some commentators are very clear of the issues on hand. There are others who are smart and intelligent but pretend to be naïve and try to divert the focus of the readers. Sometimes I wonder how these people go to sleep at night. Despite their intelligence in analyzing issues, they chose to look the other way and pretend to be naïve. I can understand if they are not smart but with strings of degrees one would expect some independent of thoughts and not to disagree for the sake of disagreement.


3)We all know who pulled the trigger and laced the body with C4 and shred the body to million pieces. The soul may have gone upstairs in small disjointed pieces. The real issue of hand is why did they do it? Is it about money or sex or both? How is that core players who did not pull the trigger actually are common people that is well known to Razak and the son of Razak? Is it not relevant to national security?


4)Would you believe me If I postulate that Singapore Security and Intelligence Division (SID) has some crucial and valuable information. This information would prove to be detrimental to national security. What is the probability that the UTK man is actually out in the street and currently living overseas? Before you expound your thoughts on this postulations, please take into account that I say it is Anwar in the sex video.


5)Right now, I wish the best to PR in Sarawak to ensure that they would create a balance of power in the state. Let’s pray for this to happen. We have seen how too much power is bad for everyone.



http://rights2write.wordpress.com/2011/04/16/part-ii-who-killed-althantuya/

---------------

RPK Tells AG to file the right charge...

Raja Petra Kamarudin has vowed to return to Malaysia if the Attorney-General charges him with defaming former deputy army special branch chief Kol Azmi Zainal Abidin.

The Malaysia Today editor also promised that he would not contest the charge.

“I will plead guilty and face the jail sentence. That is my promise if they promise to file the correct charge,” he said in his No Holds Barred column yesterday.

However, Raja Petra said he refused to face the charge of defaming three other people.

“Charging me for defaming (Prime Minister's wife) Rosmah Mansor, Kol Aziz Buyong and Kol Norhayati Hassan is the wrong charge. The right charge should be for defaming Kol Azmi.

“They must promise that this is the only charge I will face and not slap me with another 10 charges for other crimes',” he said.

Raja Petra was charged with defaming Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Lt-Kol Abdul Aziz Buyong and Lt-Kol Norhayati Hassan in a statutory declaration (SD) made at the Jalan Duta Court complex at 10.25am on June 18, 2008.

However, the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court subsequently granted him a discharge not amounting to an acquittal over the charge.

The two lieutenant-colonels have since filed a separate defamation suit against Raja Petra.

During an interview over TV3 on Wednesday, Raja Petra claimed that he had signed the declaration implicating Rosmah in the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaaribuu based on information given by Kol Azmi.

In his column, Raja Petra said police arrested and charged him for criminal defamation against the three but stressed that his allegations were against Kol Azmi.

He also insisted that he did not make a “U-turn” and reversed his story as mentioned by “pro-opposition media”.

“A U-turn means I have reversed my story. When my story now is consistent with what I said in June 2008, how could that be a U-turn?” he said, adding that for three years he had to live under the stigma of “defaming” the wrong person.

On his reasons for bringing up the matter now, he said he had been clearing up misconception about his SD since three years ago but no one listened.

Instead, he said, “what I alleged then was that a certain Kol Azmi Zainal Abidin made this allegation that Rosmah and the two colonels were at the scene the night Altantuya Shaariibuu was murdered.”

 

[kensington]

A Love Song for Altantuya...



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Well, folks, fasten your seat belts. Some massive turbulence ahead... when the case filed in Paris by SUARAM (Suara Rakyat Malaysia, a leading human rights organization) to investigate the astronomical kickbacks involved in Malaysia's purchase of French-made Scorpene submarines between 2002 and 2005, reaches full trial in the coming weeks.

It was an inspired move on the part of SUARAM, because no serious investigation would have been possible in Malaysia, where the defence minister involved in these shady deals has now been promoted to prime minister. Everybody knows all law enforcement agencies in Malaysia are under the direct control of the executive - specifically the prime minister's department and the home ministry. The present home minister happens to be Najib Razak's boorish cousin, Hishammuddin Hussein.

The shadow of unavoidable suspicion still dogs Najib Razak's every step. None of this would have become front-page news had it not been for the gruesome murder of 28-year-old Mongolian beauty, Altantuya Shaariibuu, on 20 October 2006 - who was shot twice in the head and her body blown to smithereens with military-grade C4 explosives in a forested area known as Puncak Alam, near Kuala Lumpur.



Two police officers attached to the Unit Tindakan Khas (Special Action Unit) who, at the time of the murder, had served as personal bodyguards to Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor, were charged with the macabre murder of the Mongolian woman and found guilty in April 2009 after a ponderous and farcical trial during which both the defence and prosecution took extraordinary pains to keep Najib Razak and his security chief Musa Safri from testifying.


Najib's close friend Abdul Razak Baginda, a special advisor to the defence ministry, was deeply involved in the submarine purchase. He was arrested in connection with the Altantuya murder and admitted in an affidavit that she had been his mistress for a couple of years and that she had served as a translator during the negotiations in Paris. Trial judge Zaki Yasin acquitted Abdul Razak Baginda, who swiftly relocated to the U.K. with his family.


The faces of the two policemen sentenced to death have never been revealed to the public, as the judge allowed them to cover their heads throughout the prolonged trial. Najib Razak swore on the Koran in August 2008 that he had never met "that Mongolian woman." He did not mention her by name.


However, on 3 July 2008, private investigator Balasubramaniam Perumal had issued an explosive BOOM ! BOOOM ! BOOM ! he had been engaged by Abdul Razak Baginda to keep Altantuya from bothering his client. Bala indicated in his signed declaration that Baginda had briefed him thoroughly on the situation. The background to the messy affair was that Altantuya Shaariibuu had been Najib Razak's mistress until 2004 when he became deputy prime minister, in addition to being defence minister. Najib, wishing to avoid scandal in his new high profile position, had coaxed his buddy Baginda to "look after" Altantuya.


A day later Bala Perumal appeared sullen and ashen-faced at a hastily convened media conference in a hotel at which an unknown lawyer claiming to represent Bala announced that his client had recanted his first statutory declaration and issued a new one wherein all references to Najib Razak had been surgically excised. Immediately afterwards, Bala Perumal vanished from sight and did not reappear until November 2009 when he recorded an interview with three veteran lawyers narrating his harrowing adventures following his 3 July statutory declaration.


According to Bala, he had been escorted by business associates of Rosmah Mansor (Najib's wife) to meet Nazim Razak, younger brother of Najib, who instructed him to accept a "special arrangement" if he valued the lives of his wife and children. Under this arrangement Bala was to leave Malaysia with his family and keep a low profile until after Najib Razak had been appointed the sixth prime minister. He and his family would be comfortably supported with a payment of RM5 million.


Corruption, sex, blackmail, abduction, murder, cover-ups, criminal intimidation, judicial interference, dirty deals... welcome to Bolehsia! Will Najib Razak and his moribund political party, UMNO, survive whatever fresh evidence surfaces during the upcoming corruption trial in Paris?


Well, if they do... it would mean the end of all decency, justice, freedom, truth and wise governance in Malaysia. We shall all turn into moral zombies and our beloved land will be renamed Mordoria....
Folks, a hearty round of applause to Dr Kua Kia Soong and his dedicated staff at SUARAM. They will require an injection of money to pay their legal representatives in France. I've already donated to SUARA INISIATIF SDN BHD's Hong Leong Bank account # 03000065200. Please do your bit to restore justice, accountability and human decency to this country. Thank you.

The following is the full 16-page statutory declaration signed by Abdul Razak Baginda's private investigor P. Balasubramaniam on July 1 2008.

http://www.magickriver.org/2011/06/love-song-for-altantuya.html
http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/from-around-the-blogs/40909-a-love-song-for-altantuya
http://www.magickriver.org/2010/07/najib-introduced-altantuya-to-baginda.html

 

[kensington]

WikiLeaks and the Altantuya Murder


Cables show the US embassy in KL feared "prosecutorial misconduct" during the sensational 2009 trial

The US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur closely followed the trial of the accused killers of Mongolian interpreter Altantuya Shaariibuu and frequently discussed whether current Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was involved in the killing, according to diplomatic cables supplied to Asia Sentinel by the WikiLeaks website.

The diplomats, like much of the public, also speculated that the trial was being deliberately delayed and feared what one cable calls "prosecutorial misconduct" that was being politically manipulated. The embassy officials based their concerns on sources within the prosecution, government and the political opposition.

The cables also draw attention to an intriguing allegation that then Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi may have attempted to use the proceedings to implicate Najib, a claim that was quickly hushed up in the Malaysian press.

Altantuya was murdered in October 2006 by two of Najib's bodyguards, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, 30 and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 35. who stood trial and were pronounced guilty in April 2009. Abdul Razak Baginda, one of Najib's best friends and Altantuya's lover, was accused of participating in the murder but was freed without having to put on a defense.

The murder has been tied closely to the US$1 billion acquisition of French submarines by the Malaysian ministry of defense, which Najib headed as defense minister during the acquisitions. Altantuya reportedly acted as a translator on the transaction, which netted Razak Baginda's company a €114 million "commission" on the purchase. Reportedly she had been offered US$500,000 for her part in translating. After she was jilted, she vainly demanded payment. A letter she had written was made public after her death saying she regretted attempting to "blackmail" Razak Baginda.

French lawyers are investigating whether some of the €114 million was kicked back to French or Malaysian politicians. Despite the scandal, the US government has not publicly backed away from Najib. In April 2010, Najib visited the White House and was praised by President Barack Obama for the parliament's passage of an act allowing Malaysian authorities to take action against individuals and entities engaged in proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The cables are replete with accounts of a long series of meetings with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who repeatedly told the Americans that Najib was connected to corrupt practices in the acquisition of the submarines as well as the purchase of Sukhoi Su-MCM-30 Flanker fighter jets from Russia. Anwar also called attention to Najib's connection to the Altantuya case.

A Jan. 24, 2007 cable, marked "secret," wrote that "Perceived irregularities on the part of prosecutors and the court, and the alleged destruction of some evidence, suggested to many that the case was subject to strong political pressure intended to protect Najib."

In a Feb. 1, 2008 cable, the embassy's Political Section Chief, Mark D. Clark, wrote that a deputy prosecutor had told him "there was almost no chance of winning guilty verdicts in the on-going trial of defendants Razak Baginda, a close advisor to Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, and two police officers. She described the trial as interminably long." (That, of course, turned out to be wrong. Sirul and Azilah were ultimately convicted and have appealed their sentence)

Clark called the trial a "a prosecutorial embarrassment from its inception, leading many to speculate that the ineptitude was by design. On the eve of the trial,Malaysia's Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail dropped his lead prosecutors and replaced them with less experienced attorneys. Similarly, a lead counsel for one of the defendants abruptly resigned before the trial 'because of (political) attempts to interfere with a defense he had proposed, in particular to protect an unnamed third party.'"

The protracted nature of the case, Clark continued, led "at least one regional newspaper to speculate that 'the case is being deliberately delayed to drive it from public view. Malaysia's daily newspapers rarely mention the case's latest developments, and it is unprecedented in Malaysian judicial history that a murder trial could drag on for seven months and still not give the defense an opportunity to present its case. Such an environment has led many to conclude that the case was too politically sensitive to yield a verdict before the anticipated general elections."

A January 2007 cable called attention to Razak Baginda's affidavit confirming that he sought the help of Musa Safri, later identified by reporters as Najib's aide-de-camp, in ridding him of the jilted woman, and in other cables pointed out that Musa had never been called for questioning.

In another cable, dated May 16, 2007, Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, a deputy home affairs minister in former Prime Minister Ahmad Abdullah Badawi's cabinet told US Embassy officials that he was "certain that government prosecutors would limit their trial activities to the murder itself and the three defendants; prosecutors would not follow up on allegations of related corruption or other suspects."

In a Jan. 27, 2007 cable, marked "Secret," embassy officials wrote that "In December we heard from one of (Anwar's) lawyers that Razak Baginda's wife was in contact with Anwar and Wan Azizah, suggesting one possible source for Anwar's information."

Razak Baginda's wife, during one of his first appearances in court, screamed that her husband "doesn't want to be prime minister." That was taken by observers as a reference to the fact that Najib reportedly had been having an affair with Altantuya but passed her on to Razak Baginda because it would be unseemly to have a mistress when he succeeded Abdullah Badawi as premier. Najib has offered to swear on the Koran that he had never met the woman.

However, in July 2008, P Balasubramaniam, a former policeman and private detective who had been hired by Razak Baginda to protect him from Altantuya, filed a sworn statement saying he had been told by the accused man that Najib not only knew the murdered woman but had an affair with her and introduced her to him, passing her on because he did not want the onus of having a mistress in the event that he would become prime minister.

In a telephone interview on May 9, Anwar, however, told Asia Sentinel that Razak Baginda's wife was not the source of his knowledge of Najib's connection and that instead he had been told of the connection by Setev Shaariibuu, Altantuya's father, who said he had wished to present evidence of Najib's involvement, but was not allowed to do so. Multiple attempts to contact Setev by Asia Sentinel have been unsuccessful.

Almost immediately after he made the statement, Balasubramaniam was picked up and driven to a police station, where he was forced to withdraw the statement and write a new one saying Razak Baginda had told him nothing of the sort. Balasubramaniam fled Malaysia for India. He later said Najib's brother, Nizam, and wife, Rosmah Mansor, had met with him and that he was offered RM5 million (US$1.48 million) to forget his statement connecting Najib to Altantuya. Balasubramaniam displayed a flock of checks drawn on the account of an associate of Najib's wife. The former private detective has made a a series of statements from outside the country about Najib's involvement.

A February 2008 cable from Political Section Chief Clark gives a hint that Abdullah Badawi himself may have been trying to get rid of Najib by forcing Razak Baginda to implicate him in the murder.

"In the latest turn of the ongoing Altantuya murder trial (reftels), accused political insider Abdul Razak Baginda, who has remained calm and composed through most of the proceedings, unleashed an emotional tirade shortly after the February 20 noon recess on the trial's 90th day," Clark wrote. "Referring to the Prime Minister by his nick-name 'Pak Lah,' Razak reportedly exclaimed: 'You can die, Pak Lah! (in Malaysian - Matilah kau, Pak Lah!) I'm innocent!' according to unpublished journalist accounts.

"Local newspapers and the government news service Bernama reported the fact of the outburst, but did not print Razak's statements. The short-lived exception was the English language newspaper The Sun, which included the quotations from Razak in its early morning February 21 edition. Sources at newspaper confirmed to us in confidence that the Ministry of Internal Security compelled The Sun to withdraw and recall thousands of copies of their first run paper in which the original quote was included. Prime Minister Abdullah serves concurrently as Minister of Internal Security."

During the trial, Clark wrote, Razak Baginda, "appeared uneasy throughout the morning session of court on February 20. Razak's father, Abdullah Malim Baginda had whispered something to him shortly before the trial had begun for the morning and apparently upset the accused. Razak had remained quiet throughout the morning hearings, but just after the noon recess was called and as he was leaving the courtroom he kicked and banged the door and yelled "You can die, Pak Lah! Die, Pak Lah! I am innocent. I am innocent." He was later seen crying before his lawyer while his mother attempted to comfort him."

"Speculation is rife in Malaysia's on-line community concerning what it was that set off Razak Baginda outburst, including conspiracy theories alleging the Prime Minister's office had urged Razak to implicate Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak …in return for sparing Razak a guilty verdict and its mandatory death sentence," officials wrote.

The cable goes on to write, "Regardless, the Internal Security Ministry would want to limit any possibly inflammatory reference to the Prime Minister at the trial, and particularly at this juncture due to the proximity of Malaysia's general election to be held on March 8. Any connection between the Prime Minister and the murder trial would be scandalous. The GOM (government of Malaysia) reportedly has worked hard to 'drive (the case) from public view' … and is not about to allow the case to influence the coming elections."


http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3197&Itemid=164

 

[Narong Wongwan]

Anyone heard about the 'singapore connection' of this case?

 

[kensington]

Anyone heard about the 'singapore connection' of this case?

Actually, yes. Brother NW. There was definately a "singapore connection"

This is an old thread and I haven't been around to update and my apology to everybody.


Everyone knew that Najib is the least problematic Malaysian's PM ever, like Singapore's SB has a tight grip on his pair of balls and he is singing Singapore's tune, like the return of the Railway Station foe example.

There were rumours that the SB has in possesion of certain photos of Najib and Altantuya at a "Diamond Fair" held in a hotel a few years ago. Najib had since went on to swear on the Quran that he never met Altantuya.


Those of you who had had attended a "Diamond Fair" a few years ago might unknowingly have those discriminating photos.

 

[Vinnie]

Court to hear ex-cops’ appeal over Altantuya murder

MARCH 15, 2013

PUTRAJAYA, March 15 — The Court of Appeal will convene for three days, beginning June 10, to hear an appeal by two former police Special Action Unit personnel in connection with the murder of a Mongolian woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu in 2006.

Lawyer Kitson Foong, representing former corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, said Court of Appeal deputy registrar Darmafikri Abu Adam had informed the prosecution and defence in the case that Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif had given instructions that the appeal be heard on June 10 until June 12.

He said, since the hearing dates fell within the court vacation period, a special panel would be convened to hear the appeal.

He also told reporters that both the prosecution and defence were required to file their written submissions, two weeks before June 10.

During court vacation, there is no court proceeding to hear appeals but judges are given time to complete their grounds of judgment or deliver judgments.

The appeal came up before Darmafikri today, for case management to have the hearing dates finalised.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tengku Intan Suraya Tengku Ismail appeared for the prosecution while lawyer Datuk Hazman Ahmad represented former chief inspector Azilah Hadri.

Sirul Azhar, 39, and Azilah, 34, were convicted and sentenced to death by the Shah Alam High Court in 2009, for killing Altantuya, 28, at Mukim Bukit Raja in Shah Alam between 10pm on October 19, 2006 and 1am on October 20, 2006.

Former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, 50, who was charged with abetting them, was acquitted by the High Court on October 31, 2008 after the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against him. — Bernama

 

[Vinnie]

15 March 2013| last updated at 05:23PM

PI Bala dies of heart attack

KUALA LUMPUR -- Former private investigator P. Balasubramaniam, better known as PI Bala, died of a heart attack at a clinic in Rawang near here today, said Subang Member of Parliament R. Sivarasa.

Sivarasa, who is a member of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) central leadership council, said Balasubramaniam died at 1.40 pm after experiencing breathing difficulties.

Balasubramaniam was on the way to the Sungai Buloh Hospital from his house in Rawang at about 1.30 pm, he added.

Sivarasa said Balasubramaniam, who had returned from India recently, was admitted last week to the Sime Darby Medical Centre (SDMC) in Subang Jaya where it was found that he had "three major blocks" and was scheduled to undergo coronary bypass surgery in three weeks.

Balasubramaniam was discharged from the hospital last Tuesday. -- BERNAMA

 

[Vinnie]

Friday, March 15, 2013

The truth about PI Bala's first SD

By Americk Sidhu

COMMENT Allow me to start from the very beginning. This is a long story, so please bear with me.

M Puravalen, (or Valen, as he is known to his colleagues), and I studied law together, at the Inns of Court, London, in 1980-81.

I have had a long and close relationship with Valen for the past 33 years. He has done nothing in that period of time that would make me suspect he was anything but a forthright and credible member of the legal profession.

I was introduced to former private investigator P Balasubramaniam or PI Bala and ASP Suresh by Valen at a restaurant (Fogles, to be precise) at Plaza Damas in Sri Hartamas sometime in April 2008. It was a chance meeting. There were others present, and they can confirm this.

Valen had met Bala two years earlier, when Valen was engaged to represent Razak Baginda (before Razak was arrested). Bala and Razak were actually in Valen's office at 7.30am the day Razak was arrested.

This is when Razak received an SMS from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, saying, "I am seeing the IGP at 11.00am... all will be solved...stay cool" or words to that effect. Razak showed this SMS to both Bala and Valen and informed them it was from Najib.

This took Bala (left) by surprise because prior to this incident, Razak had never referred to Najib. He had only ever referred to ‘the VVIP'. In other words, Bala did not realise that Najib was actually that VVIP until that SMS was received.

Back to Fogles. Later in the evening, the subject of Altantuya Shaariibuu's murder was brought up. I had no idea of Bala's involvement in the matter at that stage. As Bala talked, I became more intrigued as to the background of the entire affair.

As the restaurant we were in was closing, we decided to adjourn to the Backyard pub down the road to continue our conversation. This is when fellow lawyer R Sivarasa turned up and joined us. The discussion continued.

Sivarasa felt Bala's story ought to be documented in a statutory declaration as the Altantuya murder trial was still ongoing at that stage.

And so began the meetings...

Unfortunately I was nominated as the best person to record all this evidence in the form of a statutory declaration as I was considered the most ‘impartial' person at the table. I had never been involved in politics and had no previous interest in the matter.

So began the meetings with Bala at my office, mostly during the weekends, when it was quiet and there were no distractions.

Bala and I went through everything systematically, from the time he was engaged to ‘protect' Razak Baginda (right) from the persistent demands made by Altantuya until the beginning of the murder trial.

As Bala related the unfolding of events to me, I recorded everything in long hand, pausing every so often to ‘cross-examine' Bala on certain points to ensure his memory was indeed vivid and that there was no embellishment of anything he was narrating to me.

Bala cross-checked each detail by reference to the archives he had stored in his lap top, which was always kept open before him throughout the entire interviews.

After approximately two months of painstakingly sifting through all the materials, I began composing a formal statutory declaration in a format reflecting the sequence of events in an easily digestible manner, as they were a little complicated.

It should be remembered that Bala had already given evidence in the Altantuya murder trial as a prosecution witness.

'Pertinent questions left out in murder trial'

Bala was rather surprised that neither the prosecutors nor the defence counsel had bothered to ask him any pertinent and relevant questions that would have thrown some light on the events leading up to the murder, especially the chain of command.

What was even more surprising to Bala was the fact that he had provided the police with a lengthy statement, similar to that as set out in his first statutory declaration (SD). This, in effect, means that the prosecution was aware of his evidence well beforehand, but the ‘sensitive' issues were avoided wholesale.

This is part of the reason why the SD that I was in the process of preparing was of significance.

I pause to point out at this stage that neither myself, nor Bala, had had any communication whatsoever with Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar did not even feature in the equation. The entire purpose of this exercise was to ensure justice for the murdered Mongolian girl and her family. There was no political angle involved.

Sometime at the end of June 2008, there was an inquiry from Sivarasa asking whether the SD was ready. At that time it was almost completed. Siva suggested a press conference to release this SD, which we eventually agreed to do at PKR's head office in Merchant Square, Tropicana.

I wish to reiterate that no one had offered Bala or me any money to do this. If they had, I would have jettisoned the whole exercise immediately and distanced myself from it in no uncertain terms. I believed what Bala had told me, for the details and coincidences involved could not possibly have been concocted.

I am sure Valen (right) will be confirming this independently, that he did not receive any money from any party or person for his involvement and neither was he instructed to pay Bala anything, contrary to what has been alleged in RPK's latest article.

The night before the press conference (July 2, 2008), I was invited by Sivarasa to drop by at Valen's house. Bala, ASP Suresh, RPK, his wife Marina and their daughter and grandchild were there too. This is the first time I had met them. RPK was being briefed by Bala about the SD and the impending press conference was talked about.

We then proceeded to dinner at an Italian restaurant at Plaza Damas. Present at the table were RPK and his wife Marina, Valen, myself, Bala, ASP Suresh, and the CEO of a large Malaysian company and his wife.

The next morning, we attended the press conference at the PKR headquarters at Tropicana.

After that press conference, most of those present adjourned to a coffee shop downstairs for lunch, including RPK and a number of other bloggers, PKR members and the press.

I digress to point out that ASP Suresh kept popping up with Bala from time to time. When I enquired from Bala what his relationship with the police officer was, he told me ASP Suresh and he were friends and that ASP Suresh was with the D9 division at Jalan Hang Tuah, but he had been suspended for some reason.

Apparently Bala had assisted ASP Suresh in obtaining phone records as he could get these faster than the police could. It was also revealed that ASP Suresh was involved in a pub called ‘Madurai' in Jalan Imbi and Bala used to work there as a ‘bouncer' whenever asked.

Now, one of the phone calls Bala received on his mobile phone that afternoon was from ASP Tonny from the Brickfields police station. ASP Tonny had been involved in the Altantuya investigations and had questioned Bala on a few occasions.

From the tenor of the conversation he had with Bala on the phone, I got the impression ASP Tonny was glad that Bala had come out publicly and revealed what he knew as it directly coincided with what Bala had been telling the police all along.

Frustrated by the cover-up?

The further impression I got from this conversation was that ASP Tonny and his colleagues, who had been involved in the Altantuya investigations, were frustrated by the fact that there appeared to be a cover-up in the ongoing trial taking place in the High Court in Shah Alam.

When ASP Tonny suggested Bala meet him at Brickfields at 6pm that day at an ‘ikan bakar' restaurant to discuss the situation further, I agreed as I felt Bala was in safe hands. This is because ASP Suresh volunteered to drive him there. I did not realise at that stage that ASP Suresh would actually do a flip.

So, Bala left my office at about 5.30pm. I escorted him to ASP Suresh's car (a grey Proton Waja), parked outside my office and bid him farewell. That was the last I saw of Bala for more than one year. The rest is history, so to speak.

When Bala surfaced a year later, he declared to me all the payments he had received from Deepak (left). The total amount, including cash, came to approximately RM750,000. Bala has disclosed this publicly and has divulged evidence in support in the form of photocopied cheques, for RM50,000 each, drawn on Deepak's company account.

This money had been used by Bala to pay for the expenses of living in Chennai, India, for him and his family.

Bala emerged from hiding in 2009 and spilled the beans in the video recording he made in Singapore. By that time, all payments from Deepak had stopped. (Actually they had stopped much earlier as Deepak smelt something fishy and had anticipated Bala was going to ‘turn').

Therefore Bala had had to survive till the present on the RM750K given to him in 2008. Remember, he has been unemployed as he is not an Indian national and is therefore not eligible to work in India.

At the beginning of 2010, RPK (right) very kindly arranged a 'Datuk' friend of his to help Bala out financially. He paid for a second hand Toyota so that Bala could drive his children to their school in Chennai and also contributed towards school fees.

This arrangement lasted only a few months. Bala has been left to his own devices and has been surviving on Deepak's initial contributions since then.

This is the correct version of events. Bala was not paid any money by any person to affirm the first SD.

I have been diligently following everything that has occurred over the past five years and have received phone calls and text messages from Bala practically every day, updating me on his situation.

I am unable to put it more succinctly than Bala did in his comments on the article written by RPK and posted by Free Malaysia Today on March 11, 2013, that what was produced in RPK's article was utter bullshit.

RPK is completely aware of all I have said above. I would have expected him to have, at the very least, expressed his reservations as to the veracity of the information he had received from his ‘deep throat'. This he chose not to do.

Still, the main issue is being avoided...

Deepak has since given audio-visually recorded interviews with Malaysiakini, in which he has confirmed that what Bala had alleged in his first SD as true.

While dust storms are being created to obfuscate matters by allegations of fiscal impropriety on the part of different personalities, the main issue is conveniently being avoided.

The question still remains. Who ordered Altantuya's murder? This is what all law abiding citizens of this country want to know.

Bala has provided all the clues at great personal sacrifice and yet he is being slandered and castigated by a bunch of armchair eunuchs who have nothing better to do than to pour scorn on his valiant efforts to pursue what is right.

Has all this been purposely designed to distract from the real issues at hand?

I leave that to you to decide.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

AMERICK SIDHU, a practising lawyer, wrote this article specifically to refute the allegations made by RPK recently in his blog, under the heading 'The Deepak-Bala marriage: in Deepak's own words', in which RPK says that lawyer M Puravalen had been associated with a scheme in collaboration with Anwar Ibrahim to pay Bala RM700K to prepare the first SD. This article by RPK further alleges that Puravalen made off with the money, without paying Bala.

 

[winnipegjets]

We need similar juicy news on sinkapore ...sinkapore spent ten of billions annually for arms and there is NO corruption? Shockingly unbelievable.

 

[andyfisher]

Najib must be stewing in his rendang now.
hell hath no furty like a woman scorned and this woman mati also not leaving him.
he better bunga mandi. This is not going away for him.

m&d politicians are happening fellas, one play backside, another pay oyster but like to blow them up.
Wonder what skeletons spore politicians have?

 

[greenies]

Never trust politicians, especially the good speaking guys...
They can tell lies without blinking eyes, and make stories to hoodwink people.
Because they speak well, most people fall into their traps.

Simple analogy... all conmen are good talkers.

 

[Vinnie]

PI Bala dies en route to hospital

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Private investigator P Balasubramaniam, who rocked the nation with his statutory declaration on the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, has died.

Both PKR vice-president N Surendran and Subang MP R Sivarasa confirm this.

"I'm on my way to the Sungai Buloh hospital. I do not have the details yet," Sivarasa told FMT.

Balasubramaniam has suffered heart problems on March 5 and was admitted to the Medical Centre Subang Jaya. He was allowed to return on March 12.

In the first declaration, he has linked the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor in her murder.

He later retracted his claim that the second SD, and therefore, he has left the country.

Returning recently, Balasubramaniam swear on the holy book of Hindus, the Bhagavad Gita that the contents of his first SD is true.

On Tuesday Bala told FMT that he will rest for at least a month after a mild heart attack occurred last week, causing bersama2 plans to talk to the opposition throughout the country before the elections of the 13th temporarily.

He said he may have to undergo major heart surgery, and he will return to the hospital today (Friday).

"Mild heart attack occurs suddenly, and the doctor told me that the three canal is blocked, so I may have to do surgery.'s Day this Friday the doctor will do tests and will decide whether I need to undergo heart surgery or stenting only,

Since his return to Malaysia, he was involved in talks to move the party to link Najib to Altantuya.

Balasubramaniam also denied that he had been suffering from heart problems due to acts of black magic as claimed by the PKR leader Badrul Hisham.

"I do not believe in [black magic]. I believe in God alone, and I know God is with me, that's why I was able to get treatment, and that's why I do not fall down when I first felt the symptoms of a heart attack during a talk in Bihar, "he said.

Since returning to Malaysia, he was involved in talks to move the party to link Najib to Altantuya. -FMT

 

[winnipegjets]

Was he poisioned? The family should get an independent autopsy. Can't trust the government pathologist as it is common knowledge that the powers up high wanted this thorn gotten rid of.

 

[Vinnie]

Family performs final rites for PI Bala
G Lavendran | March 16, 2013

A distraught wife Sentamilselvi and her three children perform the last rites for the private investigator who died of heart attack yesterday

RAWANG: More than hundred people turned up to pay their respects to P Balasubramaniam, better known as PI Bala, at his home in Taman Pelangi, here this afternoon. The last rites for the private investigator, who died from a heart attack yesterday, began at noon and the cortege left for the Cheras crematorium at about 1.30pm.

Bala leaves behind a wife Sentamilselvi, 43, and three children Kishen, 16, Menaga, 14 and Rishi, 11. A distraught Sentamilselvi, 43 fainted when the cortege left his home. Bala, rocked the nation with a statutory declaration implicating Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and wife Rosmah Mansor in the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu.

He then retracted his allegation in a second SD, following which he left the country. Upon his return recently, Bala swore on the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu holy book, that the contents of his first SD was true. Bala suffered heart problems on March 5 and was admitted to the SJMC for tests and discharged on March 12.

Wan Azizah: Bala was a noble man

On Tuesday, Bala said he needed to rest at least a month, putting the breaks on the opposition’s plans for his nationwide ceramah before the 13th general election. His nephew, Manimaran, 28 said the family did not want any sort of media attention in their hour of grief but this seemed to have fallen on deaf ears, further upsetting the family.

Asked by FMT, why there were few politicians at the funeral: “I don’t know where are they now. Manimaran also said Bala’s post mortem report would only be ready on Monday. Seen at the funeral were PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Selayang MP William Leong and Rawang state assemblyman Gan Pei Nei.

Wan Azizah, after paying her respects, told reporter that said Bala was a noble man, “who only spoke for the people.” “I feel sorry for his wife and children, they have my heartfelt condolences.”

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Meanwhile, Kelana Jaya MP Loh Goh Burne who turned up at the crematorium said he had been in communication with Altantunya’s father Dr Shariibuu. “I’ve been communicating with Dr Shariibuu in regards to Bala’s death, he was upset as he was planning to pay him a visit in order to help Bala reveal the truth behind his daughter’s murder,” he said.

Subang MP R Sivarasa who was present at the crematorium expressed his heartfelt condolence to Bala’s family.

“He was a very brave man, we will never forget what he did to make a change in this country. Bala was a person who was willing to fight till the end for the truth, I’m sure his crusade will not end with his untimely death,” he told reporters.

Also present was Bala’s lawyer Americk Sidhu, who was devastated by Bala’s untimely death.

“I’m sad, I’m angry…but this will not end here. Bala has given me all that is needed to reveal the whole truth,and in due time it will be out in the open,” he said.