Why have the police, the Attorney-General and the judiciary ignored the “elephant in the room” in Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case – that Sirul and Azilah could not have killed the Mongolian whom they did not know without a motive and a mastermind?

The Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case is the second case in Malaysia to kick up an international storm after the Federal Court’s 5-0 conviction of Anwar Ibrahim on Sodomy II and five-year jail sentence.

Although the Federal Court decision on the Altantuya murder case was made on Jan 13 finding the two former police commandos Sirul Azhar Umar and Azilah Hadri guilty of the murder of the Mongolian in 2006, the Altantuya case did not become an international storm until after Anwar’s Federal Court decision when Sirul, seeking refuge in Australia, announced that he was thinking of “telling all” about the murder of Altantuya.

Sirul said: “If I die today, I would not find peace. I did what I was told and this is what I get in return.”

I believe the entire Malaysian population can share Sirul’s sense of injustice if he has to pay for the murder of Altantuya, but the mastermind who had the motive and ordered the killing is able to get away scotfree.

DAP MP for Bukit Gelugor Ramkarpal Singh has called on the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar to initiate fresh investigations into Altantuya’s murder after one of the convicted killers claimed that he was ordered to kill her.

The IGP, however, is obstinate that the police will not re-investigate Altantuya’s murder even though new allegations have surfaced on the ground that Sirul had not divulged information that merited renewed scrutiny into the case.

This is double negligence on the part of the police in its investigations to the Altantuya’s murder.

In fact, the police, the Attorney-General and all the Federal Court judges had been guilty of serious negligence when they ignored the “elephant in the room” in the Altantuya murder case – as it is clear and obvious to all Malaysians and the world that Sirul and Azilah would not have killed the Mongolian whom they did not know without a mastermind who had the motive to direct them to do so.

While the Federal Court’s conviction of Sirul and Azilah is not disputed, why had the Federal Court judges failed to raise the question that both Sirul and Azilah had no motive to murder Altantuya, and tha the police should continue investigations to bring to book the “mastermind” who had the motive to order Sirul and Azilah to murder Altantuya?

The same question applies to the Police and the Attorney-General – whey they had stopped short of investigating and prosecuting the “mastermind” with the motive to direct Sirul and Azilah to murder Altantuya?

Retired senior prosecutor in the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Datuk Stanley Isaacs, had said that the police can only re-open the Altantuya murder case if Sirul lodges a police report that he had acted under orders to commit the crime.

I do not agree as Sirul had stated as much in his first police statement on 9th November 2006, and I do not think Sirul can say very much beyond what he said in that statement – that he was offered money and carrying out instructions to kill Altantuya.

The further question is why the Police and Attorney-General failed to act on Sirul’s first statement to the police on 9th November 2006, which itself will be proof of gross negligence of the police investigators and the Attorney-General.

If the Attorney-General had knowledge of Sirul’s first police statement admitting to the crime but stating that he was directed to do so, it constituted a serious dereliction of duty on his part in not directing the police to carry out a more satisfactory and thorough investigation to find out, not just the “hatchet men” who murdered Altantunya, but the “mastermind” behind it.

Can the Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail exonerate himself of such a gross dereliction of duty?