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The
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, stands accused by many of
involvement in the murder of Atlantuya Shaariibuu, a young Mongolian
woman. The current affair of the two protesters with one shot dead
outside his office on Monday, upcoming elections and a visit by
Mongolian investigators in the wake of new evidence, threaten to blow
the unresolved case open again.
When even the father of
Altantuya Shaariibuu, the young Mongolian woman who was murdered in
Malaysia, questions why Prime Minister Najib Razak is so reluctant to
take part in the French Scorpenes corruption trial, then it is indeed
time for Najib as the leader of his nation to step forward and clear his
name and his government's for the world to see.
Setev's words are not only loud and clear for all to hear but have deep implications for Malaysia, which has been dragged into the centre of the 6-year-long global scandal. If Najib doesn't dare to defend his own name, then he must be hiding something or is even guilty of the damning allegations made against him. This is what Setev is saying. And if this is so, then Malaysians may have to finally rouse themselves into action and demand the resignation of their scandal-tainted prime minister if he refuses to come clean and be responsible to them and the global community. Shocking silence, a sign of guilt?  In
a press statement issued to the Malaysia media on Thursday and read out
at a press conference by PKR MP for Kelana Jaya Loh Gwo-Burne, Setev
said it was shocking that the Najib administration had not taken any
interest in assisting or participating in the Scorpenes probe.His 28-year-old daughter is believed to have been killed because of her knowledge of the Scorpene submarines deal, in which French vendor DCNS has been accused of bribing officials including Najib to seal the RM7.3bil sale to the Malaysian government. Setev also expressed shock that the Malaysian Parliament - which is controlled by Najib's Umno party - had rejected a recent motion to debate new evidence uncovered in the French trial that indicated Najib's close friend and Scorpenes negotiator Razak Baginda may have sold military secrets to DCNS. "Due to the murder of my daughter, I have taken a keen interest in the Scorpene trial in the French Court. The latest developments have seen information regarding a Hong Kong company named Terasasi whereby Razak Baginda and his father are directors, being implicated in the selling of military secrets to a French company," said Shaariibuu. Sweeping dirt under the carpet  DCNS
is now on trial in Paris for corrupt dealing in the Malaysian Scorpenes
purchase. French police have uncovered hundreds of documents which are
still being assessed by the French court. So far, the money trail
established for the payment of the Scorpenes bribe has led to Baginda,
whom many regard as Najib's front man, and Umno.Nonetheless, Malaysian authorities including current Defense minister Zahid Hamidi and top military officials have denied naval secrets were sold. And although such an act is high treason, no one in the Malaysian government has dared to call for an investigation. Their nonchalant sweeping of the dirt under the carpet has sparked public indignation and anger. Some political watchers say Najib and Umno will have to keep closing an eye and repeating their denials because the country's 13th general election is due to be held soon. To Altantuya's dad, that might be trivializing his daughter's murder, but by sitting on both the Scorpene and Altanutya cases, Najib is courting serious trouble and loss of voter confidence in his personal integrity. We have proof Altantuya traveled to France  Setev
also refuted the slew allegations spun by the Umno-controlled Malaysian
media that Altantuya did not travel to France between 1999 and 2007.
The Scorpenes were bought in 2002 and Altantuya was killed in 2006."We have proof that she did indeed travel to France and will produce the evidence if so required. I hope that through this case and efforts of other good people in France and Malaysia, we will get to the truth and hopefully find the real masterminds behind my daughter's murder," said Setev. Setev, who added that he was willing to assist in the Scorpene probe and could provide useful information that would bring more clarity to the case, is alread on the list of witness due to testify before the French court. Intertwined - Altantuya and Scorpenes  Deliberately
misreporting, the Malaysian media had cited French immigration records
and insisted that these showed she had not entered France. However, the
latest court documents showed that she actually did so, bolstering
Setev's claim. There is also testimony from a DCNS official saying that
he had met her and she was known to him as Baginda's interpreter.The reasons are obvious why Najib and Umno would go all out to de-link the Altantuya murder from the Scorpenes deal. In the Scorpenes case, at the most, Najib and Umno could be found guilty of only graft. However, once the connection between the Scorpenes purchase and Altantuya is established, it would be difficult for the Malaysian courts to refuse to re-open the case. There might even be a re-trial if the evidence uncovered in France is deemed significant and central to the motive behind her murder. Najib and top Umno officials might find themselves on the list of new suspects. Urged to extend full co-operation to Mongolian investigators  Setev
also appealed to the Najib administration to extend "full and sincere"
assistance to a Mongolian working team due to arrive in Kuala Lumpur to
investigate Altantuya's murder.Altantuya, who speaks 4 languages including Russian, was shot in a jungle clearing in Shah Alam by two of Najib's former bodyguards. They also blew up her body with restricted-for-military-use C4 explosives so as to prevent identification. While the two cops have been sentenced to hang for the murder, there is obvious public dissatisfaction with the outcome. Firstly, Baginda was controversially acquitted of having abetted in the murder. He was seen as having been let off easily, without the full story being dragged out from him by either the police or the prosecutors. Secondly, the majority of people following the case believe that the real master minds behind the killing have yet to be exposed. "I hope for the sake of justice and mutual relations between Mongolia and Malaysia, that the Malaysian government will provide full and sincere assistance to the Mongolian working team which will be arriving in Malaysia this August to investigate the murder of my daughter." Malaysia Chronicle |
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