PI Bala's widow: M'sians have forgotten my hubby

 

The widow of the late P Balasubramaniam is heartbroken that Malaysians have forgotten her husband’s contribution to the country.

“Malaysians may have forgotten him for what he has done for the country, but not I,” said A Santamil Selvi.

Selvi (left) said there would be special prayers at her house in Rawang today to commemorate the first anniversary of Balasubramaniam's death.

The mother of three lamented that since her husband, popularly known as PI Bala, passed away, life has been difficult, with her ever having to raise their children, aged between 12 and17, on her own.

“I have been running a small kindergarten on my own, with a few children as they are many other kindergartens around, competition is great,” she told Malaysiakini.

“What to do, he has gone. My kids are also not having an easy time in school as they studied overseas, in India for five years, their Bahasa Malaysia is lacking but because of financial constraints, I have to think twice about sending them for tuition,” she added.

Selvi has received some financial help from the Pakatan Rakyat state government but this is not been sufficient.

However, she is glad that she is no longer being “disturbed” by anyone.

Following his death, Selvi had received a phone call from an unidentified person, asking her to “join the other side”.

Asked what side the caller was referring to, she replied: "My husband sided with Pakatan, so you know which is the other side.”

“I declined. The caller told me that Bala had gone to the other side when he was alive, but I did not believe him. My husband had been steadfast and consistent till the end of his life,” she added.

A damning statutory declaration

Bala, 53, died of a heart attack after several public speaking arrangements on a Pakatan platform, where he urged Malaysians to vote out the BN government so that justice can be found for murdered Mongolian national Altantuya Shariibuu.

Bala (right) was one of the few who had seen Altantuya alive, before her remains were found at a jungle clearing in Shah Alam on Oct 19, 2006.

Bala was famously known for his role as a private investigator, engaged to “protect” political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda from the persistent demands made by Altantuya until the beginning of the murder trial, where he was one of the witnesses.

Abdul Razak was charged with abetting in the murder in October 2006, along with two of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s former bodyguards. However, he was acquitted without his defence being called.

The two former policemen - Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar - have also been acquitted, pending the prosecution’s appeal to the Federal Court on June 23-25.

Bala created a storm when he returned from India on Feb 24 last year after five years in forced exile, vowing to fight for justice for Altantuya and the two policemen convicted of her murder, claiming they were merely following instructions.

Upon his return, he claimed that his first statutory declaration in July 2008 linking Najib to Altantuya’s murder was the truth.

Bala had apologised and even swore on a Hindu holy book that his first SD “was the truth and nothing but the truth”.

His first SD stunned the public as it contained vivid details of his purported interactions with several personalities leading to Altantuya’s death.

Among others, he claimed that Najib had a sexual relationship with Altantuya and had introduced her to Abdul Razak, his close political ally.

Najib has denied that he was ever close to the woman, and even swore on the Holy Quran to proclaim his innocence.

In a highly dramatic event, Malaysians were stunned again when Bala withdrew his first SD the next day, claiming he had made it under duress, and fled the country.

According to Americk Singh Sidhu (left), Bala’s lawyer, who recorded his first SD, Bala surfaced a year later, and declared that he received approximately RM750,000 from carpet merchant Deepak Jaikishan, who is closely linked to Rosmah Mansor, Najib’s wife, and this sustained him and his family in India.

In an interview with Malaysiakini in August 2012, Bala also alleged there was an attempt to bribe him when he was in exile in India, to smear PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.

In an interesting twist, Deepak (left) later revealed in an interview with PAS media organ Harakah how a senior lawyer and his son had drafted and prepared the second SD to “protect” Najib.

When contacted, Americk said he remembers Bala fondly, expressing hope that his former client’s death would not be in vain.

“We shall continue with his quest to ensure justice is eventually done. This matter is by no means over yet,” he vowed.