Its all too late, as the need to re-open Altantunya murder case is no more a distant thunder but in the very forefront of national consciousness of all policy makers and Malaysians - thanks to Najib himself

I must congratulate former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak for landing a new occupation - making a cameo appearance in a South Korean television drama as it not easy for a former Prime Minister of Najib’s “stature” to find a new occupation.

But he has probably committed the biggest blunder in his whole life when he tried to be a “hero” on the issue of re-opening of investigation into the mysterious murder of Mongolian model Altantunya Shaariibuu, striking the posture that he would order his assistant to lodge a police report against himself so that the authorities can start investigating if he was involved in several high profile murders while he was in power – which included the Altantunya Shaariibuu murder case.

Najib said in a Facebook posting on Thursday night that “this was the last resort he had to take to clear his name following repeated calls by DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang to the authorities to reopen their investigations into these cases.”

Lo and behold – Najib’s aide lodged a report the next day on Friday, but it was not lodged against him but against me, as if it was I who had a hand in the murder of Atantunya Shaariibuu, Deputy Public Prosecutor Kevin Morais, Ambank Founder Hussen Najadi, DAP aide Teoh Beng Hock and Customs Officer Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed!

The first police reaction was from the Sentul district police chief S. Shanmugamoorthy Chinniah in a Malaysiakini report yesterday time-lined 1.57 pm, which quoted him as saying that the police will not open an investigation into a report filed by Najib’s aide against me on several high-profile murders.

Shanmugamoorthy said “There’s nothing to investigate” and said the matter has been classified as a civil action.

He said: “Najib wants to defend himself (against Lim's claims). There is nothing to investigate there. It is more like (a case involving) slander, but we are not investigating.... Civil action can be taken”.

This must be music to the ears of Najib, pointing to the case of the mysterious murder of Altantunya will continue to be buried – but only for a few hours.

Clearly, Najib had not expected the Inspector-General of Police of all persons to be responsible for creating a new Altantunya nightmare for him. In a few hours later, Malaysiakini published a report time-lined 5.34 pm quoting the IGP, Tan Sri Fuzi Harun as saying that an investigation will be initiated into the report by Najib’s aide and appropriate action taken which would be the “normal process”.

If Najib is sincere about his aide’s police report, he should welcome the IGP’s statement and regret the Sentul OCPD’s statement, but clearly he was very upset.

Totally ignoring Fuzi’s statement (which Najib would have known), the former Prime Minister came out with a Facebook posting praising the Sentul OCPD, declaring that the police had made the right move in deciding not to further investigate a police report lodged by his aide relating to several high-profile murders.

He said:

"This is right, because the truth is that I am not involved in all these cases which have been investigated thoroughly and completely and have gone through the courts for years."

Then, Najib should explain why the charade of directing his aide to lodge the police report to re-open investigations into several mysterious deaths under his tenure? Is he going to lodge a police report against his aide for false reporting?

Has Najib so quickly given up on his “last resort…to clear his name”?

Najib may want to put the whole scandal of the several mysterious deaths under his tenure back under lock and key, but let me tell Najib, thanks to his own undoing, it is all too late – that the need to re-open these mysterious deaths, especially the foul murder of Mongolian model Altantunya is no more a distant thunder but is in the very forefront of national consciousness of all policy makers and Malaysians.

A Malaysiakini reader was spot-on when he wrote the following comment:

“The sentul police Chief was correct in not investigating the report on LKS & the IGP was correct if he wanted the investigations on najib role in these murders”.

Let Najib stop equivocating and give a short answer: Would he agree to the re-opening of investigations into mysterious deaths like the case of Altantunya Shaariibuu, Kevin Morais, Hussain Najadi, Teoh Beng Hock and Ahmad Sarbani?

Yesterday, I provided three powerful reasons why there should be re-opening of investigations into the murder of Altantunya Shaariibuu –

• firstly, the statutory declaration of private investigator P. Balasubramanian, dated 1st July 2008 which in effect challenged the truth and veracity of various statements and denials by Najib in connection with the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu in October 2006;
• secondly, the police confession on Nov. 9, 2006 by former police special commando Suril Azhar Umar who had been convicted of the murder of Altantunya, that he only a tool in the murder of Altantunya; and
• thirdy, the teary statement by Sirul in Kuala Lumpur High Court on Feb. 3, 2009 asking the court not to sentence him to death for Altantuya’s murder, saying he was like “a black sheep that has to be sacrificed” to protect unnamed people who have never been brought to court or faced questioning.

Today, I will provide two further reasons for the re-opening of investigations into the murder of Altantunya.

Firstly, to establish whether Najib had sent Razak Baginda phone message to be “COOL” and the nature of telephonic messages connectioned to the Altantunya murder; and whether the Altantunya murder had anything to do with the Scorpene submarine deal and scandal.

I asked Najib yesterday firstly, whether he would join me to send a joint petition to the Prime Minister to re-open investigations into the murder of Altantunya Shaariibuu; and secondly, whether he would agree to be my seconder if I move a motion in Parliament for the authorities to re-open investigations into the Altantunya murder.

Now with Najib’s latest shift of position, it is clear that Najib’s answers to both my questions would be in the negative. Or would I be wrong?

Let the Parliamentary Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi and the PAS President Datu Seri Hadi Awang declare whether they would support, with the full complement of UMNO and PAS Members of Parliament, a parliamentary motion for the police to re-open investigations into mysterious deaths like that of Altantunya Shaariibuu, Kevin Morais, Hussain Najadi, Teoh Beng Hock and Ahmad Sarbani!