Malaysia must be a responsible member of the international community of nations by putting to rest two grand corruption scandals – firstly, the Scorpene submarine scandal and murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu and secondly, the 1MDB scandal
Malaysia must be a responsible member of the international community of nations by putting to rest two grand corruption scandals – firstly, the Scorpene submarine scandal and the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu and secondly, the 1MDB scandal.
I suggested yesterday that the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) should investigate the 2002 Scorpene submarine corruption case and the murder of Altantunya Shaariibuu following the charging of the French company Thales by the French Government for complicity in bribery of the Scorpene submarine deal in Malaysia two decades ago and that the PAC can do so under Dewan Rakyat Standing Orders 77(d) which provides that the PAC can examine “(d) such other matters as the Committee may think fit, or which may be referred to the Committee by the House.”
One convicted killer of Altantuya Shaariibuu, Azilah Hadri had made a statutory declaration from death row in 2019 that the order to kill Altantuya came from former Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and the latter’s close associate, Abdul Razak Baginda.
In admitting for the first time that he and another convicted killer Sirul Azhar Umar had killed the Mongolian national, he said he was merely following an exploit “shoot to kill” order as a member of the elite Special Action Force (UTK) of the police.
The other convicted killer of Altantuya, Sirul had also claimed he killed Altantuya in 2006 on the instruction of the Malaysian Government on the grounds that she was a “Russian spy”.
Sirul and Azilah were convicted of shooting Altantuya and blowing her up with military-grade explosives in October 2006.
The Malaysian Federal Court in 2015 overturned a Court of Appeal decision which cleared the duo, thus sentencing them to death by hanging.
However Sirul who was free during the appeal process had fled to Australia and is detained at the Villawood immigration Centre in Sydney, Australia.
It has been reported that Sirul is willing to tell all on Altantuya’s murder provided he was given a full pardon on his return to Malaysia.
Although the Federal Court dismissed Azilah’s application to review his conviction and death sentence in December 2020, public interest requires investigation into the motive for Altantuya’s murder.
The charging of the French company Thales by the French Government for complicity in bribery of the Scorpene submarine deal in Malaysia two decades ago has re-opened both the 2002 Scorpene submarine corruption case and the Altantunya Shariibuu murder case.
The PAC should consider investigating both cases, including interrogating Azilah at death row and sending PAC members to Villawood Immigration Centre in Sydney to interrogate Sirul, consider a parliamentary plea to the Yang di Pertuan Agong to commute the death sentence for both convicted killers in the effort to establish the motive for the murder of Altantuya.