PKR today called on Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to “come clean” on his travels in 2002, following claims of a “mysterious third person” jet-setting with at least one of his known associates in connection with the controversial Scorpene submarine deal.
Party secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution said the onus was on Najib to prove he did not have a hand in the negotiations, since as mounting evidence being revealed in the French courts narrows the focus down to the premier himself.
Saifuddin (right) said it has now been established that the estimated RM6.27 billion deal between the Malaysian government and French company DCNS was brokered by Najib’s close associates, including his one-time adviser Abdul Razak Baginda and Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) chief Lodin Wok Kamaruddin.
Suaram, he said, had revealed that Razak, along with murdered Mongolian translator Altantuya Shariibuu and an unknown third person, had travelled to Macau in connection with the submarine deal.
“One of them is already dead, one has been charged in court. One more is still alive and could be holding a high position… we don’t know, but we will know when the trial starts,” Saifuddin said at a press conference at the PKR party headquarters in Petaling Jaya.
Suaram revealed last week that a French probe onto the submarine the deal had unveiled that an unknown third person had travelled with Razak and Altantuya in 2002, in connection with the submarine purchase.
However, Suaram did not disclose the places the trio visited, nor did it indicate who the mystery third person could be. Suaram director Cynthia Gabriel said it was “still too early” to determine the individual’s identity. Who’s the mystery Male-Y?
PKR vice-president Tian Chua, who was also present, said Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi may not be the right person to testify on the identity of the mystery “third person”, since Najib was defence minister at the time of the submarine purchase and would therefore be privy to the details at the time.
“I don’t think Zahid was privileged to know the travellers. The then defence minister is in the best position (to identify) this mysterious person… we could call him Male Y if you like,” Tian Chua (left) said, jokingly referring to the Male Y DNA strain highlighted in PKR adviser Anwar Ibrahim’s on-going second sodomy trial.
Saifuddin also urged the government to clarify contradictions in its own explanations on the 114 million Euro (RM495.9 million) payout to Perimekar for services rendered.
He said that Amaris, a subsidiary of DCNS, revealed during the probe by the French that the Malaysian government paid out the sum as commission to Perimekar – totally opposite of the government’s announcement in 2006 that Amaris paid the money for Perimekar’s coordination and support services in the deal.
Tian Chua pointed out that the people have every right to know who made the payment to Perimekar and the purpose of the payment, since this aspect of the deal had nothing to do with national security. “This is not a national security issue in terms of the functions of the Scorpene submarines. We are not dealing with the security aspects, we are dealing with the finance part, which is of public interest,” he said.
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