French lawyer: Najib, Razak Baginda 'priority witnesses'

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his confidante Abdul Razak Baginda are the “priority witnesses” in the investigation of the Scorpene scandal, said French lawyer Apoline Cagnat.
She is representing human rights NGO Suaram in the probe by the French judiciary.

Cagnat (left in photo) told a briefing for Malaysian parliamentarians today in Singapore that, of the seven witnesses submitted by Suaram and accepted by the French judiciary, Najib and Razak are the most important.

“I hope the judges manage to interrogate them,” she said.

The other five witnesses are:
- Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
- Setev Shaariibuu, the father of murdered Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu
- private investigator P Balasubramaniam
- Boustead Holdings Bhd group managing director and deputy chairperson Lodin Wok Kamaruddin
- Jasbir Singh Chahl, said to be Razak's right-hand man
Cagnat reiterated that, should Najib (left) refuse to testify, an arrest warrant can be issued by the French judiciary.

She said the recent issuance of an arrest warrant for Equatorial Guinea Agriculture Minister Teodoro Nguema Obiang - who is also the son of the president - in relation to a corruption case, has shown that this may happen to Najib.

"This could definitely happen in the Scorpene case if the judges have enough evidence to issue such a warrant," she said.

There is also a possibility that the French judges could come to Malaysia to conduct their probe, said Cagnat.

"They can ask for cooperation (from Putrajaya). They can also come. It is up to them. Sometimes they come, sometimes they send police. It is possible."
Asked by the MPs to comment on Putrajaya's argument that the submarine procurement is strictly a state-to-state deal that does not involve the payment of commission to private companies, she replied that the government is "trying to escape" the inquiry but that the evidence shows otherwise.
Suaram's Plan B

On the recent hositility shown to Suaram by the Malaysian authorities, Cagnat stressed that, even if it is declared illegal by the government and loses its status as civil plaintiff, this would not stop the judges from pursuing the case.

However, she conceded that the presence of a civil plaintiff would strengthen the case.

Suaram secretariat member Cynthia Gabriel, who hosted the briefing, said the NGO is holding discussions with other Malaysian NGOs which are active in fighting corruption on stepping into its role in the event it is declared illegal.

One of the NGOs is Transparency International-Malaysia, she revealed.

The French legal team, led by prominent human rights lawyer William Bourdon (left), had initially been invited by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim to brief parliamentarians in Malaysia on the probe.

Planned to be held at Parliament House, it was moved to a hotel in Singapore after the Malaysian government failed to provide a guarantee of security to the French lawyers.

Bourdon had been deported when he was in Malaysia last year to work on the case.

Only Cagnat was present at the two-hour briefing today.

Those present included seven opposition MPs, Suaram directors Cynthia and Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, as well as reporters from Malaysia and Singapore.

The lawmakers were Batu MP Tian Chua, Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad, Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua, Kuala Krai MP Hatta Ramli, Kelana Jaya MP Loh Gwo-Burne, Subang MP R Sivarasa and Teluk Kemang MP Kamarul Baharin Abbas.