Saturday, 6 February 2010
'Historical facts reveal Allah used exclusively for Muslims'
(NST) - Historical facts reveal that the word "Allah" had long been used to define and exclusively refer to God for Muslims in the region, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.
He added that although people during the pre-Islamic Arabia ("Jahiliyyah") and Christian ("Nasrani") era used the word to refer to their gods, surah Al-Ikhlas in the Quran clearly defined the concept of the oneness of Allah in Islam.
He was referring to the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims in the court case between Catholic weekly magazine, Herald, and the Home Ministry.
"It is also a fact that the arrival of Islam to the Malay world had also brought the word "Allah" (and its meaning) free of the Jahiliyyah understanding.
"For Muslims in this region, the word Allah has long been used based on the understanding of tauhid (the doctrine of oneness of God in Islam), and not otherwise," he said at the launch of a forum for academicians and ulama here yesterday.
Muhyiddin also explained earlier of other borrowed Arabic terms such as solat, masjid and takwa, had become part of the Malay language within the Islamic context.
"For example, the word masjid refers to a place where Muslims sujud (prostrate), bow and be devoted to Allah.
"And of course, rationally, it will be utterly awkward if the word masjid is used to refer to other places of worship that do not involve the practice of sujud, bow and be devoted to Allah."
Muhyiddin said resolving matters related to religious sensitivities between Muslims and non-Muslims had become the greatest challenge faced by Islamic academicians and ulama today.
He said such complexities stemmed from the lack of understanding of Islam and the tendency to comprehend it superficially without rational thinking and a solemn spirit, had made Islam to be the most misunderstood religion.
"And that is how an extremist understanding of the religion crops up and threatens to disrupt the unity among Muslims and disrupt the harmony in a multireligious and multiracial society."
Muhyiddin said the negative perceptions of a religion could be avoided if religious leaders take proactive measures to hold scholarly discourse to understand the sensitivities of other religions.
"I believe Islamic academicians and ulama can play an active role in holding talks and dialogue on Islam and promote understanding between religious communities."
Anwar warned: Zaid may quit PKR
KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Keadilan Rakyat is under pressure to expel Zaid Ibrahim and keep Zulkifli Noordin and Zahrain Hashim, all of whom are facing disciplinary action over public statements and behaviour that have offended the party, according to celebrated fugitive Raja Petra Kamarudin.He says in a recent blog posting that the pressure is linked to a tussle for leadership among party figures who believe that the Najib regime will eventually imprison Anwar Ibrahim to kill his political career.
Some see Zaid as a threat to their rise in the party, says the blogger without mentioning his sources of information.
PKR recently decided to ask Zaid, Zulkifli and Zahrain to answer charges that they had breached party discipline. The disciplinary committee has said it will have the hearing some time this month.
Zulkifli, who is MP for Kulim-Bandar Baharu, carried on a public quarrel with Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad of PAS and lodged a police report against him for supporting a High Court decision allowing Christians to call God “Allah.” Zahrain, MP for Bayan Baru, insulted Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng of DAP. And Zaid, a PKR vice-president and architect of Pakatan Rakyat’s Common Policy Framework, called on the party to sack Zulkifli.
Raja Petra’s article, largely addressed to Anwar, warns of the possibility and consequences of Zaid leaving the party even before he faces the disciplinary board.
“The problem Anwar would face,” he says, “would not be just about Zaid leaving. It would be about the Internet community, bloggers, and civil society movements shifting their alliances and loyalty.”
The article is critical of Anwar’s so-called inner circle and advises the opposition leader to be more realistic than sentimental.
It says: “Anwar should note that those who criticise him or the party have his interest at heart while those who praise him do so for their personal gain and not for the good of the party.”
Nasir Safar, the ‘mystery man’ the day Altantuya died
Yes, that man in the blue Proton Saga was Nasir Safar. But the police, who took Bala’s statement, denied it and said that it was a resident from that area and not Nasir Safar. How did the police know this immediately without any further investigation and without taking Nasir Safar’s statement?
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
The Special Officer to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, Nasir Safar, has been asked to resign for calling the early Indian immigrants to Malaya beggars and the Chinese prostitutes. But that is not the icing on the cake. The icing on the cake is that Nasir Safar was the man mentioned in item 30 of PI Bala’s Statutory Declaration:
“Azilah asked me whether the woman was Aminah and I said ‘Yes’. He then walked off and made a few calls on his handphone. After 10 minutes another vehicle, a blue Proton Saga, driven by a Malay man, passed by slowly. The driver’s window had been wound down and the driver was looking at us.”
You can read the full text of Bala’s Statutory Declaration below.
Yes, that man in the blue Proton Saga was Nasir Safar. But the police, who took Bala’s statement, denied it and said that it was a resident from that area and not Nasir Safar. How did the police know this immediately without any further investigation and without taking Nasir Safar’s statement?
Now, why would the Prime Minister’s Special Officer be at the scene of the crime? Was it to see for himself that Altantuya is arrested and quickly disposed off?
So that would make two of Najib’s staff involved in the Altantuya murder, the other being his ADC, Musa Safri, who was never called to testify at the Altantuya murder trial.
Do you remember Norhayati Hassan, Rosmah’s ADC? Weren’t she and her husband, Abdul Aziz Buyong, not also involved in the murder? Their senior officer in the army confirmed that he had trained this husband and wife team on how to handle C4. Is that a coincidence, circumstantial evidence, or maybe merely a lie by RPK and Malaysia Today?
Earlier, we published the police guard logbook that showed two unnamed military officers going into Najib’s house around midnight the night Altantuya died and they did not exit until dawn the following morning.
Okay, were they sitting on Rosmah’s sofa from midnight to dawn just chitchatting or did they actually leave in Rosmah’s car to go somewhere, whereby no logbook entry was made? And if they left the house in Rosmah’s car, then where did they go and what did they do over those five to six hours?
Yes, the plot thickens. First it was Najib’s ADC, Musa Safri. Then it was Rosmah’s ADC, Norhayati Hassan, and her husband, Abdul Aziz Buyong. And now we have Nasir Safar, who drove past Razak Baginda’s house very slowly, possibly to ensure that Altantuya, who was making a nuisance of herself, is picked up.
Would Najib like to challenge us on this? He can if he so wishes. Then Bala’s lawyer can arrange for the witness to testify to the MACC in London, as what they offered to do. But the problem is the MACC does not want to meet him in London. They want him to meet them at the Malaysian High Commission in Singapore.
Does the MACC think we are stupid? Meeting at the Malaysian High Commission in Singapore would be like meeting at Bukit Aman. Or should we just arrange to meet in Kamunting instead and save everyone a lot of trouble?
Oh, and don’t forget Najib’s brother who met Bala to threaten him and to force him to withdraw his most damaging Statutory Declaration.
STATUTORY DECLARATION
I, Balasubramaniam a/l Perumal a Malaysian Citizen of full age and residing at [deleted] do solemly and sincerely declare as follows :-
1. I have been a police officer with the Royal Malaysian Police Force having jointed as a constable in 1981 attached to the Police Field Force. I was then promoted to the rank of lance Corporal and finally resigned from the Police Force in 1998 when I was with the Special Branch.
2. I have been working as a free lance Private Investigator since I left the Police Force.
3. Sometime in June or July 2006, I was employed by Abdul Razak Baginda for a period of 10 days to look after him at his office at the Bangunan Getah Asli, Jalan Ampang between the hours of 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m each working day as apparently he was experiencing disturbances from a third party.
4. I resigned from this job after 2 ½ days as I was not receiving any proper instructions.
5. I was however re-employed by Abdul Razak Baginda on the 05-10-2006 as he had apparently received a harassing phone call from a Chinese man calling himself ASP Tan who had threatened him to pay his debts. I later found out this gentleman was in fact a private investigator called Ang who was employed by a Mongolian woman called Altantuya Shaaribuu.
6. Abdul Razak Baginda was concerned that a person by the name of Altantuya Shaaribuu, a Mongolian woman, was behind this threat and that she would be arriving in Malaysia very soon to try and contact him.
7. Abdul Razak Baginda informed me that he was concerned by this as he had been advised that Altantuya Shaaribuu had been given some powers by a Mongolian ‘bomoh’ and that he could never look her in the face because of this.
8. When I enquired as to who this Mongolian woman was, Abdul Razak Baginda informed me that she was a friend of his who had been introduced to him by a VIP and who asked him to look after her financially.
9. I advised him to lodge a police report concerning the threatening phone call he had received from the Chinese man known as ASP Tan but he refused to do so as he informed me there were some high profile people involved.
10. Abdul Razak Baginda further told me that Altantuya Shaaribuu was a great liar and good in convincing people. She was supposed to have been very demanding financially and that he had even financed a property for her in Mongolia.
11. Abdul Razak Baginda then let me listen to some voice messages on his handphone asking him to pay what was due otherwise he would be harmed and his daughter harassed.
12. I was therefore supposed to protect his daughter Rowena as well.
13. On the 09.10.2006 I received a phone call from Abdul Razak Baginda at about 9.30 a.m. informing me that Altantuya was in his office and he wanted me there immediately. As I was in the midst of a surveillance, I sent my assistant Suras to Abdul Razak Baginda’s office and I followed a little later. Suras managed to control the situation and had persuaded Altantuya and her two friends to leave the premises. However Altantuya left a note written on some Hotel Malaya note paper, in English, asking Abdul Razak Baginda to call her on her handphone (number given) and wrote down her room number as well.
14. Altantuya had introduced herself to Suras as ‘Aminah’ and had informed Suras she was there to see her boyfriend Abdul Razak Baginda.
15. These 3 Mongolian girls however returned to Abdul Razak Baginda’s office at the Bangunan Getah Asli, Jalan Ampang again, the next day at about 12.00 noon. They did not enter the building but again informed Suras that they wanted to meet Aminah’s boyfriend, Abdul Razak Baginda.
16. On the 11.10.2006, Aminah returned to Abdul Razak Baginda’s office on her own and gave me a note to pass to him, which I did. Abdul Razak Baginda showed me the note which basically asked him to call her urgently.
17. I suggested to Abdul Razak Baginda that perhaps it may be wise to arrange for Aminah to be arrested if she harassed him further, but he declined as he felt she would have to return to Mongolia as soon as her cash ran out.
18. In the meantime I had arranged for Suras to perform surveillance on Hotel Malaya to monitor the movements of these 3 Mongolian girls, but they recognized him. Apparently they become friends with Suras after that and he ended up spending a few nights in their hotel room.
19. When Abdul Razak Baginda discovered Suras was becoming close to Aminah he asked me to pull him out from Hotel Malaya.
20. On the 14.10.2006, Aminah turned up at Abdul Razak Baginda’s house in Damansara Heights when I was not there. Abdul Razak Baginda called me on my handphone to inform me of this so I rushed back to his house. As I arrived, I noticed Aminah outside the front gates shouting “Razak, bastard, come out from the house”. I tried to calm her down but couldn’t so I called the police who arrived in 2 patrol cars. I explained the situation to the police, who took her away to the Brickfields police station.
21. I followed the patrol cars to Brickfields police station in a taxi. I called Abdul Razak Baginda and his lawyer Dirren to lodge a police report but they refused.
22. When I was at the Brickfields police station, Aminah’s own Private Investigator, one Mr. Ang arrived and we had a discussion. I was told to deliver a demand to Abdul Razak Baginda for USD$500,000.00 and 3 tickets to Mongolia, apparently as commission owed to Aminah from a deal in Paris.
23. As Aminah had calmed down at this stage, a policewoman at the Brickfields police station advised me to leave and settle the matter amicably.
24. I duly informed Abdul Razak Baginda of the demands Aminah had made and told him I was disappointed that no one wanted to back me up in lodging a police report. We had a long discussion about the situation when I expressed a desire to pull out of this assignment.
25. During this discussion and in an attempt to persuade me to continue my employment with him, Abdul Razak Baginda informed me that :-
25.1 He had been introduced to Aminah by Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at a diamond exhibition in Singapore.
25.2 Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak informed Abdul Razak Baginda that he had a sexual relationship with Aminah and that [deleted by nat out of respect to the family of the deceased].
25.3 Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak wanted Abdul Razak Baginda to look after Aminah as he did not want her to harass him since he was now the Deputy Prime Minister.
25.4 Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Abdul Razak Baginda and Aminah had all been together at a dinner in Paris.
25.5 Aminah wanted money from him as she felt she was entitled to a USD$500,000.00 commission on a submarine deal she assisted with in Paris.
26. On the 19.10.2006, I arrived at Abdul Razak Baginda’s house in Damansara Heights to begin my night duty. I had parked my car outside as usual. I saw a yellow proton perdana taxi pass by with 3 ladies inside, one of whom was Aminah. The taxi did a U-turn and stopped in front of the house where these ladies rolled down the window and wished me ‘Happy Deepavali’. The taxi then left.
27. About 20 minutes later the taxi returned with only Aminah in it. She got out of the taxi and walked towards me and started talking to me. I sent an SMS to Abdul Razak Baginda informing him “Aminah was here”. I received an SMS from Razak instructing me “To delay her until my man comes”.
28. Whist I was talking to Aminah, she informed me of the following :-
28.1 That she met Abdul Razak Baginda in Singapore with Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
28.2 That she had also met Abdul Razak Baginda and Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at a dinner in Paris.
28.3 That she was promised a sum of USD$500,000.00 as commission for assisting in a Submarine deal in Paris.
28.4 That Abdul Razak Baginda had bought her a house in Mongolia but her brother had refinanced it and she needed money to redeem it.
28.5 That her mother was ill and she needed money to pay for her treatment.
6. That Abdul Razak Baginda had married her in Korea as her mother is Korean whilst her father was a Mongolian/Chinese mix.
28.7 That if I wouldn’t allow her to see Abdul Razak Baginda, would I be able to arrange for her to see Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
29. After talking to Aminah for about 15 minutes, a red proton aeroback arrived with a woman and two men. I now know the woman to be Lance Corporal Rohaniza and the men, Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azahar. They were all in plain clothes. Azilah walked towards me while the other two stayed in the car.
30. Azilah asked me whether the woman was Aminah and I said ‘Yes’. He then walked off and made a few calls on his handphone. After 10 minutes another vehicle, a blue proton saga, driven by a Malay man, passed by slowly. The driver’s window had been wound down and the driver was looking at us.
31. Azilah then informed me they would be taking Aminah away. I informed Aminah they were arresting her. The other two persons then got out of the red proton and exchanged seats so that Lance Corporal Rohaniza and Aminah were in the back while the two men were in the front. They drove off and that is the last I ever saw of Aminah.
32. Abdul Razak Baginda was not at home when all this occurred.
33. After the 19.10.2006, I continued to work for Abdul Razak Baginda at his house in Damansara Heights from 7.00 p.m. to 8.00 a.m. the next morning, as he had been receiving threatening text messages from a woman called ‘Amy’ who was apparently ‘Aminah’s’ cousin in Mongolia.
34. On the night of the 20.10.2006, both of Aminah’s girl friends turned up at Abdul Razak Baginda’s house enquiring where Aminah was. I informed them she had been arrested the night before.
35. A couple of nights later, these two Mongolian girls, Mr. Ang and another Mongolian girl called ‘Amy’ turned up at Abdul Razak Baginda’s house looking for Aminah as they appeared to be convinced she was being held in the house.
36. A commotion began so I called the police who arrived shortly thereafter in a patrol car. Another patrol car arrived a short while later in which was the investigating officer from the Dang Wangi Police Station who was in charge of the missing persons report lodged by one of the Mongolians girls, I believe was Amy.
37. I called Abdul Razak Baginda who was at home to inform him of the events taking place at his front gate. He then called DSP Musa Safri and called me back informing me that Musa Safri would be calling handphone and I was to pass the phone to the Inspector from Dang Wangi Police Station.
38. I then received a call on my handphone from Musa Safri and duly handed the phone to the Dang Wangi Inspector. The conversation lasted 3 – 4 minutes after which he told the girls to disperse and to go to see him the next day.
39. On or about the 24.10.2006, Abdul Razak Baginda instructed me to accompany him to the Brickfields police station as he had been advised to lodge a police report about the harassment he was receiving from these Mongolian girls.
40. Before this, Amy had sent me an SMS informing me she was going to Thailand to lodge a report with the Mongolian consulate there regarding Aminah’s disappearance. Apparently she had sent the same SMS to Abdul Razak Baginda. This is why he told me he had been advised to lodge a police report.
41. Abdul Razak Baginda informed me that DPS Musa Safri had introduced him to one DSP Idris, the head of the Criminal division, Brickfields police station, and that Idris had referred him to ASP Tonny.
42. When Abdul Razak Baginda had lodged his police report at Brickfields police station, in front of ASP Tonny, he was asked to make a statement but he refused as he said he was leaving for overseas. He did however promise to prepare a statement and hand ASP Tonny a thumb drive. I know that this was not done as ASP Tonny told me.
43. However ASP Tonny asked me the next day to provide my statement instead and so I did.
44. I stopped working for Abdul Razak Baginda on the 26.10.2006 as this was the day he left for Hong Kong on his own.
45. In mid November 2006, I received a phone call from ASP Tonny from the IPK Jalan Hang Tuah asking me to see him regarding Aminah’s case. When I arrived there I was immediately arrested under S.506 of the Penal Code for Criminal intimidation.
46. I was then placed in the lock up and remanded for 5 days. On the third day I was released on police bail.
47. At the end of November 2006, the D9 department of the IPK sent a detective to my house to escort me to the IPK Jalan Hang Tuah. When I arrived, I was told I was being arrested under S.302 of the Penal Code for murder. I was put in the lock up and remanded for 7 days.
48. I was transported to Bukit Aman where I was interrogated and questioned about an SMS I had received from Abdul Razak Baginda on the 19.10.2006 which read “delay her until my man arrives”. They had apparently retrieved this message from Abdul Razak Baginda’s handphone.
49. They then proceeded to record my statement from 8.30 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. everyday for 7 consecutive days. I told them all I knew including everything Abdul Razak Baginda and Aminah had told me about their relationships with Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak but when I came to sign my statement, these details had been left out.
50. I have given evidence in the trial of Azilah, Sirul and Abdul Razak Baginda at the Shah Alam High Court. The prosecutor did not ask me any questions in respect of Aminah’s relationship with Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak or of the phone call I received from DSP Musa Safri, whom I believe was the ADC for Datuk Seri Najib Razak and/or his wife.
51. On the day Abdul Razak Baginda was arrested, I was with him at his lawyers office at 6.30 a.m. Abdul Razak Baginda informed us that he had sent Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak an SMS the evening before as he refused to believe he was to be arrested, but had not received a response.
52. Shortly thereafter, at about 7.30 a.m., Abdul Razak Baginda received an SMS from Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and showed, this message to both myself and his lawyer. This message read as follows :- “ I am seeing IGP at 11.00 a.m. today …… matter will be solved … be cool”.
53. I have been made to understand that Abdul Razak Baginda was arrested the same morning at his office in the Bangunan Getah Asli, Jalan Ampang.
54. The purpose of this Statutory declaration is to :-
54.1 State my disappointment at the standard of investigations conducted by the authorities into the circumstances surrounding the murder of Altantuya Shaaribuu.
54.2 Bring to the notice of the relevant authorities the strong possibility that there are individuals other than the 3 accused who must have played a role in the murder of Altantuya Shaaribuu.
54.3 Persuade the relevant authorities to reopen their investigations into this case immediately so that any fresh evidence may be presented to the Court prior to submissions at the end of the prosecutions case.
54.4 Emphasize the fact that having been a member of the Royal Malaysian Police Force for 17 years I am absolutely certain no police officer would shoot someone in the head and blow up their body without receiving specific instructions from their superiors first.
54.5. Express my concern that should the defence not be called in the said murder trial, the accused, Azilah and Sirul will not have to swear on oath and testify as to the instructions they received and from whom they were given.
55. And I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same be true and by virtue of the provisions of the Statutory Declaration Act 1960.
SUBCRIBED and solemnly )
declared by the abovenamed )
Balasubramaniam a/l Perumal ]
this day of 2008 )
Before me,
………………………………….
Commissioner for Oath
Kuala Lumpur
Translated into Chinese at: http://ccliew.blogspot.com/2010/02/blog-post_7873.html
Translated into BM by Jason:
Nasir Safar, si 'lelaki misteri' pada hari Altantuya meninggal dunia
Ya, lelaki di dalam Proton Saga biru itu adalah Nasir Safar. Namun pihak polis yang mengambil keterangan Bala menafikannya dan mengatakan bahawa lelaki berkenaan adalah penduduk kawasan itu dan bukannya Nasir Safar. Bagaimanakah polis tahu akan perkara ini tanpa melakukan siasatan lanjut dan tanpa mengambil keterangan daripada Nasir Safar?
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Pegawai Khas Perdana Menteri Najib Tun Razak, Nasir Safar diminta meletakkan jawatan kerana menggelar pendatang awal India ke Malaya sebagai pengemis dan pendatang Cina sebagai pelacur. Tetapi tu bukan ‘cerita panasnya’. ‘Cerita panas’ pada hari ini adalah Nasir Safar adalah orang yang dinyatakan dalam perkara 30, Akuan Bersumpah Bala:
"Azilah bertanya kepada saya adakah wanita itu Aminah dan saya menjawab, 'Ya'. Dia kemudiannya beredar dan membuat beberapa panggilan dengan menggunakan telefon bimbitnya. Sepuluh minit kemudian, sebuah Proton Saga biru yang dipandu oleh seorang lelaki Melayu melalui kawasan itu dengan perlahan-lahan. Tingkap bahagian pemandu terbuka dan pemandu itu memandang ke arah kami.”
Anda boleh membaca teks penuh Akuan Bersumpah Bala di bawah ini.
Ya, lelaki di dalam Proton Saga biru itu adalah Nasir Safar. Namun pihak polis yang mengambil keterangan Bala menafikannya dan mengatakan bahawa lelaki berkenaan adalah penduduk kawasan itu dan bukannya Nasir Safar. Bagaimanakah polis tahu akan perkara ini tanpa melakukan siasatan lanjut dan tanpa mengambil keterangan daripada Nasir Safar?
Pelik… mengapakah Pegawai Khas Perdana Menteri berada di tempat kejadian? Adakah kerana dia ingin memastikan bahawa Altantuya ditangkap dan dihapuskan dengan segera?
Dengan pendedahan ini, maka dua daripada kakitangan Najib terlibat dalam pembunuhan Altantuya, yang mana seorang lagi adalah ADC-nya, Musa Safri yang tidak tidak pernah dipanggil untuk memberikan keterangan semasa perbicaraan pembunuhan Altantuya.
Anda masih ingat pada Norhayati Hassan, iaitu ADC Rosmah? Bukankah dia dan suaminya, Abdul Aziz Buyong juga terlibat dalam pembunuhan itu? Pegawai senior mereka dalam angkatan tentera mengesahkan bahawa dia telah melatih pasangan suami isteri itu tentang cara mengendalikan C4. Adakah itu suatu kebetulan, bukti berdasarkan keadaan (circumstantial), ataupun mungkin hanya pembohongan yang diuar-uarkan oleh RPK dan Malaysia Today?
Sebelum ini, kami memaparkan buku log polis pengawal yang menunjukkan bahawa dua pegawai tentera yang tidak disebutkan namanya pergi ke rumah Najib sekitar tengah malam pada malam Altantuya meninggal dunia, dan mereka tidak keluar hingga fajar keesokan harinya.
Okeylah, mungkinlah kot dia orang melepak di sofa Rosmah sambil berborak dari tengah malam hingga fajar. Mmm… atau adakah mereka meninggalkan rumah tu dengan menggunakan kereta Rosmah dan pergi ke suatu tempat, di mana tiada catatan dibuat dalam buku log berkenaan? Kalau betul mereka meninggalkan rumah tu dengan menggunakan kereta Rosmah, maka ke manakah mereka pergi dan apakah yang mereka lakukan selama lima hingga enam jam?
Ya, plotnya makin rumit. Mula-mula sekali, nama ADC Najib, Musa Safri muncul. Selepas tu, timbul pula nama ADC Rosmah, Norhayati Hassan dan suaminya, Abdul Aziz Buyong. Nah, sekarang pula, nama Nasir Safar pula disebut-sebut sebagai orang yang memandu kereta secara perlahan-lahan di depan rumah Razak Baginda. Mungkin dia nak pastikan bahawa Altantuya, ‘si pengacau’ tu, ditangkap.
Adakah Najib nak cabar kami dalam hal ni? Kalau nak, silakan. Dengan demikian, peguam Bala dapat melakukan segala yang perlu supaya saksi berkenaan dapat memberikan keterangan kepada SPRM di London, iaitu seperti yang ditawarkan sebelum ni. Masalahnya adalah SPRM tak nak bertemu dengannya di London. Mereka nak bertemu di Suruhanjaya Tinggi Malaysia di Singapura.
SPRM ingat kita ni bangang sangatkah? Kalau nak jumpa di Suruhanjaya Tinggi Malaysia di Singapura, lagi bagus kita jumpa di Bukit Aman saja. Alang-alang, apa kata kita jumpa di Kamunting. Senang kerja semua orang. Gitu?
Oh ya, jangan lupa tentang adik Najib yang berjumpa dengan Bala untuk mengugutnya dan memaksanya menarik balik Akuan Bersumpahnya yang begitu menjahanamkan (karier politik Najib) tu.
Pengarang Malaysian Maverick: Fitnah 2 Umpama Filem Buruk Yang Diulang Tayang
From Sidney Morning Herald
By Barry Wain
The last time Malaysia’s former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim was charged with sodomy, the country’s judicial system was on trial. This time around, the stakes are even higher.
If Anwar is convicted, in a case that opened in Kuala Lumpur’s High Court on Tuesday, Malaysians can wave goodbye to the best chance of developing a two-party political system in more than half a century.
It will also end any real prospect of Malaysia extricating itself from corrosive race-based politics, and signal the former British territory’s continued descent into self-destructive extremism.
Over the past two years, the charismatic Anwar, 62, has achieved what many analysts thought was impossible. He has tacked together three disparate political parties and formed a credible – if still fragile – opposition, representing hope for a multiracial future.
Nobody else has the organisational ability, political skills and personal trust to hold them together and provide the People’s Front, as it calls itself, with dynamic leadership.
Anwar’s legal problems should be seen in this light.
In 1998, then-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad sacked Anwar as deputy premier and finance minister because he suspected Anwar was using the turmoil of the Asian economic crisis to challenge him.
Beaten viciously in custody, Anwar spent years in jail after being found guilty of corruption and sodomy in trials regarded as fatally flawed by international legal authorities. He was cleared of sodomy on appeal, but banned from seeking public office for five years.
On his return, he galvanised the fragmented opposition into a stunning psychological victory in 2008, capturing five of Malaysia’s 13 states and denying the ruling National Front coalition its customary two-thirds majority in parliament.
The opposition was able to make such gains by tapping into the “politics of disgust”, winning the support of Malaysians alienated by rampant corruption and cronyism. Significant numbers of them crossed ethnic lines to vote for candidates promising reform.
Anwar targeted the affirmative action program called the New Economic Policy, which is supposed to channel economic benefits to native peoples, predominantly Malays. The policy has been widely abused to enrich better-off Malays, notably members of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the dominant party in the 13-member National Front.
In a bold move, Anwar formulated an alternative new economic agenda to assist all poor Malaysians, based on need rather than ethnicity. Not only did droves of disaffected Chinese and Indians desert the government, but a significant percentage of Malays also switched allegiance.
UMNO, in power since Malaysia gained independence in 1957, has reacted badly to its setback. Faced with the possibility of defeat at the next elections, due in 2013, the party has concentrated on sabotaging the resurgent opposition rather than reforming itself.
Like the rerun of a bad movie, Anwar was promptly arrested and charged again with sodomy, this time on the complaint of a university drop-out who had worked briefly for Anwar. Consensual sex between males is illegal in Malaysia, punishable by 20 years’ imprisonment and caning, though the law is rarely enforced.
The public perception in Malaysia is that “sodomy 2″, as the local media dub it, is entirely political, a view shared by the international community. An Amnesty International spokesman has characterised the trial as “the same old dirty tricks” to remove Anwar from politics.
UMNO has also resorted to scaremongering, using race and religion to reinforce the fear among Malays, the majority community, that they are besieged and under threat.
UMNO was blamed for fanning racial tension when arsonists last month attacked 10 churches across the country, after a court ruled that Christians could use the Arabic word “Allah” as a translation for ”God” in the Malay language. The government insists “Allah” should be reserved solely for Muslims, despite widespread use of the word by Christians and other minorities in Arabic-speaking countries and places such as Indonesia.
Prime Minister Najib Razak, elected president of UMNO last year to replace the discredited Abdullah Badawi and stem UMNO’s decline, has talked reform and even made minor adjustments to affirmative action. But while he promotes an inclusive vision for the country under the slogan of “One Malaysia”, an UMNO-owned newspaper often carries racist commentaries.
Anwar and his allies in the People’s Front have found the going rough in the past two years. Through a mixture of inexperience and incompetence, they have underperformed in the states they control.
Still, if Anwar is jailed for sodomy, it will not only end his political career but also terminate an attempt to open up the economic and political systems of one of the Muslim world’s most important countries.
Barry Wain, writer-in-residence at the Institute of South-East Asian Studies in Singapore and author of the recently released Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times, speaks to an Asialink public event on February 16, 6pm, Level 1, Sidney Myer Asia Centre at the University of Melbourne.
Malaysia on trial along with Anwar
By Barry Wain | The Age, Australia
The last time Malaysia’s former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim was charged with sodomy, the country’s judicial system was on trial. This time around, the stakes are even higher.
If Anwar is convicted, in a case that opened in Kuala Lumpur’s High Court on Tuesday, Malaysians can wave goodbye to the best chance of developing a two-party political system in more than half a century.
It will also end any real prospect of Malaysia extricating itself from corrosive race-based politics, and signal the former British territory’s continued descent into self-destructive extremism.
Over the past two years, the charismatic Anwar, 62, has achieved what many analysts thought was impossible. He has tacked together three disparate political parties and formed a credible – if still fragile – opposition, representing hope for a multiracial future.
Nobody else has the organisational ability, political skills and personal trust to hold them together and provide the People’s Front, as it calls itself, with dynamic leadership.
Anwar’s legal problems should be seen in this light.
In 1998, then-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad sacked Anwar as deputy premier and finance minister because he suspected Anwar was using the turmoil of the Asian economic crisis to challenge him.
Beaten viciously in custody, Anwar spent years in jail after being found guilty of corruption and sodomy in trials regarded as fatally flawed by international legal authorities. He was cleared of sodomy on appeal, but banned from seeking public office for five years.
On his return, he galvanised the fragmented opposition into a stunning psychological victory in 2008, capturing five of Malaysia’s 13 states and denying the ruling National Front coalition its customary two-thirds majority in parliament.
The opposition was able to make such gains by tapping into the “politics of disgust”, winning the support of Malaysians alienated by rampant corruption and cronyism. Significant numbers of them crossed ethnic lines to vote for candidates promising reform.
Anwar targeted the affirmative action program called the New Economic Policy, which is supposed to channel economic benefits to native peoples, predominantly Malays. The policy has been widely abused to enrich better-off Malays, notably members of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the dominant party in the 13-member National Front.
In a bold move, Anwar formulated an alternative new economic agenda to assist all poor Malaysians, based on need rather than ethnicity. Not only did droves of disaffected Chinese and Indians desert the government, but a significant percentage of Malays also switched allegiance.
UMNO, in power since Malaysia gained independence in 1957, has reacted badly to its setback. Faced with the possibility of defeat at the next elections, due in 2013, the party has concentrated on sabotaging the resurgent opposition rather than reforming itself.
Like the rerun of a bad movie, Anwar was promptly arrested and charged again with sodomy, this time on the complaint of a university drop-out who had worked briefly for Anwar. Consensual sex between males is illegal in Malaysia, punishable by 20 years’ imprisonment and caning, though the law is rarely enforced.
The public perception in Malaysia is that “sodomy 2″, as the local media dub it, is entirely political, a view shared by the international community. An Amnesty International spokesman has characterised the trial as “the same old dirty tricks” to remove Anwar from politics.
UMNO has also resorted to scaremongering, using race and religion to reinforce the fear among Malays, the majority community, that they are besieged and under threat.
UMNO was blamed for fanning racial tension when arsonists last month attacked 10 churches across the country, after a court ruled that Christians could use the Arabic word “Allah” as a translation for ”God” in the Malay language. The government insists “Allah” should be reserved solely for Muslims, despite widespread use of the word by Christians and other minorities in Arabic-speaking countries and places such as Indonesia.
Prime Minister Najib Razak, elected president of UMNO last year to replace the discredited Abdullah Badawi and stem UMNO’s decline, has talked reform and even made minor adjustments to affirmative action. But while he promotes an inclusive vision for the country under the slogan of “One Malaysia”, an UMNO-owned newspaper often carries racist commentaries.
Anwar and his allies in the People’s Front have found the going rough in the past two years. Through a mixture of inexperience and incompetence, they have underperformed in the states they control.
Still, if Anwar is jailed for sodomy, it will not only end his political career but also terminate an attempt to open up the economic and political systems of one of the Muslim world’s most important countries.
Barry Wain, writer-in-residence at the Institute of South-East Asian Studies in Singapore and author of the recently released Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times, speaks to an Asialink public event on February 16, 6pm, Level 1, Sidney Myer Asia Centre at the University of Melbourne.
People Should Not Take Religious Issues Lightly - Najib
PUTRAJAYA, Feb 5 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the people should not treat lightly issues pertaining to religion which can create controversy between the various religions and ethnic groups.
He said several incidents previously were seen as attempts by certain groups to jeopardise stability and racial relations in the country
"For example, the issue on the use of the word 'Allah' since early this year truly tested our wisdom in tackling the problem.
"(These included) the incident on the attempts to burn several churches and surau, and the latest was the placing of the pig's heads in the compounds of two mosques," he said at a gathering of the Prime Minister with Islamic scholars and leaders at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC), here Friday.
Also present was the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom.
Najib said history had shown that many of the wars and conflicts started from petty issues.
"Beware that the big and devastating fires started from embers which were not put out," he said.
The Prime Minister said everyone should understand the negative implication that could emerge from such controversial incidents.
He said the unwillingness to back down purely to defend one's ego would be detrimental to everyone and they should go back to the negotiation table to discuss with the parties concerned to resolve whatever issues there were.
"Have faith in the solidarity of 1Ummah which is achievable through understanding and mutual respect between one another," he said.
Meanwhile, Najib said diplomatic visits were certainly important in helping to resolve conflicts in other countries.
"In the efforts to fight violence, the government is committed to assist in issues concerning the Muslim minority in Non-Muslim countries, for example the situation in southern Thailand and the Philippines.
He also suggested that leaders of religious agencies in these countries initiated moves toward transformation by planning programmes which were more innovative, dynamic, contained new dimension, and more fresh.
He said he had suggested several innovative and creative approaches by having the Islamic Innovation Month and Islamic Innovation Carnival in each Umno division or Parliamentary constituency.
The Prime Minister also urged the ulama to be consistent in carrying out transformation and to understand deeply the meaning of terminologies pertaining to international, regional and national politics.
"These include those concerning globalisation, neo-colonialism or imperialism and the scale of influence of such actions on faith, culture, education, politics and the people's economy.
"Without in-depth understanding, all our efforts to face these challenges will fail or have little effects," he said.
As such, he said the ulama must become citizens of the world who were 'interconnected', most close to the latest resources, and could communicate in an intelligent and most modern manner.
Najib, who is also the Finance Minister, said the ulama should sit down together to tackle the global economic crisis, give their views, and come up with economic policies which were more fair, Islamic and protected moral and humanitarian values.
Rigged Politics – The only game in town
by Nathaniel Tan
On my way out to lunch, but a quick point to my latest article. The hyperlinks therein were removed, so I hope no one will mind if I reproduce it here with links intact :)
While writing this piece, I had a random thought perhaps worth noting for later further exploration. What if Najib was secretly egging on the Perkasa factions so as to make himself appear to be the more moderate alternative – an ‘in between’ between conservative Umnoputeras and ‘overly liberal’ opposition? It’d be quite a con.
Ah well, wouldn’t be a political blog without the occasional conspiracy theory right? :P
Why do people with good hearts even bother anymore with politics in Malaysia?
There’s a story about gambler and card sharp Canada Bill Jones, who was one day losing his entire bankroll at a crooked game of Faro. His friend asked, “Hey Bill, why don’t you walk away while you can – don’t you know the game is crooked?” Canada Bill sighed and replied “I know, I know,” and added, “but it’s the only game in town.”
Sometimes those who work for a better Malaysia can’t help but get the feeling that they’re always playing against a stacked deck, and I can’t blame them.
This was brought home to me in particular last week when I learnt that a book I edited with John may be banned (if I can make a shameless plug, it’s still available for now, but perhaps not for long!) – this despite our efforts to ensure that what we put together was entirely factual, things we are confident would hold up in a fair court of law. Apparently though, any book with pictures of Altantuya, Teoh Beng Hock, Kugan and Anwar on the cover are bound to “threaten public order”.
Of course, much larger problems are happening in the grand scheme of things – many of which remind me of Canada Bill’s game.
Over the last few days and weeks, we have seen a great number of injustices. This last weekend, the police moved to block Khalid Ibrahim from speaking at Batu Caves during Thaipusam – ostensibly because the police felt it wasn’t cool for him to do so given that Najib wanted to speak around the same time.
I couldn’t help but remember scenes from Batu Caves not 3 years ago, where Najib’s same Umno government was firing tear gas at Indians trapped within the same Batu Caves compound.
Of course, Khalid isn’t the only one being prevented from speaking to the rakyat. Anwar met the same fate in Kampung Kerinci that same week, when the Brickfields district police chief came down to drag him off the stage, even preventing Anwar from saying some prayers to prematurely close his speech.
This level of government paranoia is overbearing. In any mature democracy, citizens should be allowed to inspect all the cards in the deck to make their own verifications and judgments, not just the ones the dealer chooses to reveal.
Anwar of course faces bigger challenges this week than being disallowed to say closing prayers. Last week, the Federal Court decided that his defense should not be allowed to examine the prosecution’s evidence ahead of his trial. Sounds a little like they’ll have to fight with one hand tied behind their back.
Elsewhere in less prominent legal cases, police defy court orders to return all of the samples seized from Kugan’s post mortem, and return some in an unusable state. One of the lawyers taking up the case, Teluk Intan MP M. Manogaran is himself being investigated for sedition over comments he made about Umno, the church firebombing and Anwar’s trial.
Students haven’t been spared either, as universities hold e-voting for the first time, raising a great many suspicions about vote rigging.
Through this all, the biggest ace hidden mischievously up a sleeve may be the abuse of the mainstream media.
One of my consistent ‘favourites’ may be The Star, who headlined Zulkifli Nordin two days in a row. This was too rich for me – highlights of the problems of one individual coming from the party who can’t even elect or depose their president and central committee properly.
Even that however, may not have been as dangerously misleading as the opinion piece that was written by Joceline Tan in The Star comparing articles by Najib and Anwar in the Wall Street Journal on the Allah controversy.
I must say I cannot think of a better word for this particular op-ed, along with Syed Nazri’s nearly identical one in the NST (directions from the top? goodness me of course not) than “disgusting”.
The general thesis seemed to be that the WSJ articles show Anwar to be some raving lunatic that was willing to let the country burn in order to get his political way, while Najib was a middle ground, peacemaking statesman.
I invite you to read the two articles for yourself. I found Najib’s to be extremely representative of himself and his administration – a pitiful attempt to replace badly needed leadership with hopelessly empty rhetoric, entirely reminiscent of the manner in which Najib is as always unwilling to take a proper stand in any matter or conflict.
I suppose Ms. Tan has been tasked with trying to salvage some of the Christian vote, which to my mind will not easily forget the trauma of the last few weeks and months – I daresay BN would be hard-pressed to garner votes from anyone but their most diehard supporters from that particular segment.
The reason she is bound to fail is that people are well aware of a pivotal fact that she glosses over: it was the Umno government themselves that made the ban in the first place, and that same Umno government (under Najib no less) that challenged the High Court ruling allowing the usage of Allah.
Ms. Tan’s attempt to rebrand Najib as a mediator rather than a primary party to the conflict is in bad faith, as is Naijb’s own attempt to cloak in honeyed words his own culpability in this controversy as well as his lack of decisiveness and ability to lead change. A man who started a fray cannot pretend to be above it.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and when you peel your way through the words chosen by consultants paid with millions of your tax dollars, we see a Malaysia that is anything but 1. We see instead different rules for different communities, and different standards for those on the ‘wrong’ side of the political divide.
As the deck continues to be rigged, I cannot help but both pity and admire those still willing to sit at Malaysia’s crooked game because they believe to leave would mean deserting the rakyat. My own hopes include seeing the day where enough straight players sit at the table to force a change in the game once and for all.
Nathaniel Tan has been known to enjoy the occasional game of cards, but he promises not to gamble away any of his book sales income you may feel like contributing towards.
Friday, 5 February 2010
Live - Anwar trial updates; Demo in Penang
And so the Anwar trial continues – while over in Penang, demonstrators protest against what they perceive to be unfair enforcement action targeted at illegal Malay hawkers and food stall operators, an allegation the Penang local government denies.
Anwar trial – and so it goes on
http://anilnetto.com/judiciary/live-anwar-trial-updates/
Anwar trial – and so it goes on
http://anilnetto.com/judiciary/live-anwar-trial-updates/
Tribute to Dr.G.Sreenevasan, founder HKL’s Urology and Nephrology Dept but Malaysian Indian doctors degrees derecognized
We pay tribute to Dr.G.Sreenevasan for his contributions to the Malaysian Medical field. Our condolences to Dr G.Sreenevasan’s family.
(refer NST 4/2/2010 at page 4)
This is yet another classical example and the tip of the iceberg of how the Indians helped built this country Malaysia. In the year 1957, about 60% of the country’s doctors were Indians. The Indian doctors set up the Eye Department (Dr Keshminder Singh), Kidney Urology Department (Dr.G.Sreenevasan), Child Department (Dr. Abraham) and the other medical departments in Malaysia.
But as UMNOs’ reward, in 2004 only one place was given in the University of Malaya for the 1.8 Million Indians to compete. Thousands of Indian students using their parents hard earned savings, EPF, houses and land sold etc went overseas to study medicine in Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Indonesia, India etc. But UMNO’s racist regime derecognized their degrees in these foreign Universities even though Malaysia is short of doctors by 50% (UM 8/10/09 at page 24). Why can’t this Indian students be made to do an extra six months of housemanship and absorbed into the Malaysian Medical service as doctors especially when we are 50% short of doctors. But UMNO would rather bring in doctors from muslim countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and even Africa to fill in the doctors’ shortage in Malaysia. Never mind the foreign exchange flowing out of the country but no chance for the local ethnic minority Indian medical students studying overseas.
This extent of UMNO’s racism, religious extremism and supremacy does not happen in any other part of the world the last having been in apartheid South Africa in 1989.
P.Uthayakumar
Forum: Malaysian Indians excluded from National Mainstream Development of Malaysia.
Date: 7/2/2010
Time: 5.30pm
Venue: Setiawan Recreation Club (SRC),
Setiawan, Perak.
For more information please contact:
Mr.Subra (Setiawan)- 012 482 6957
Mr.Siva (Taiping) - 016 534 7834
Mr.Ramesh (Perak Cheif)- 019 523 5528
Please forward this to friends.
Thank you,
S.JAYATHAS
HRP Information Cheif
DAP leader's wife splashed with mysterious liquid
It was a rude shock for the wife of state DAP chairman when a motorcyclist splashed her with an unknown liquid after sending her children to school at about 6.30am today.
Irene Chang, a lawyer, was about to open the door of her car, which was parked at Sanyan Road near the Sanyan building in Sibu, when two men on a motorcycle passed by.
One of them suddenly splashed the liquid on her and sped away.
Chang's husband Wong Ho Leng, who is the Bukit Assek assemblyman, said his wife was alright but shaken.
Only a little bit of the liquid landed on her, he said, adding she had given her statement to the police.
Wong said he had no idea of the motives behind the attack.
"If the motive is political, it will not soften my resolve to fight for a better society," he said.
Last year two firework explosives were thrown at his house.
The first one on Sept 27 failed to explode while the second one on Oct 15 exploded when it hit the house fencing.
No one was injured in both incidents.
- Bernama
Irene Chang, a lawyer, was about to open the door of her car, which was parked at Sanyan Road near the Sanyan building in Sibu, when two men on a motorcycle passed by.
One of them suddenly splashed the liquid on her and sped away.
Chang's husband Wong Ho Leng, who is the Bukit Assek assemblyman, said his wife was alright but shaken.
Only a little bit of the liquid landed on her, he said, adding she had given her statement to the police.
Wong said he had no idea of the motives behind the attack.
"If the motive is political, it will not soften my resolve to fight for a better society," he said.
Last year two firework explosives were thrown at his house.
The first one on Sept 27 failed to explode while the second one on Oct 15 exploded when it hit the house fencing.
No one was injured in both incidents.
- Bernama
Saiful says Anwar was his idol
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal - The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s accuser told the High Court today that he once idolised the Opposition Leader, describing himself as an “Anwar fan”.
Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan was recounting in court today on the third day of Sodomy II his experience when he first met his idol Anwar in March 2008, soon after the general elections that year.
“In March, my friend Rahimi Osman called me to come to his office in Petaling Jaya, Section 16. He had called because he wanted to chat with me and catch up on things.
“While talking at the office, he asked me whether I was employed. When I said that I was not working, he then asked me whether I wanted to become an assistant in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s office,” said Saiful.
According to Saiful, Rahimi had told him that Anwar was short of office staff owing to the fact that staff members such as Nurul Izzah and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad were contesting in the elections at that point of time.
Saiful recounted how he was still divided over taking a job there when Rahimi took him to a meeting and introduced him to Anwar.
Saiful, not friends with Anwar anymore. - Picture by Choo Choy May
Saiful also told the court that he had always idolised Anwar because “Anwar is a charismatic leader.”
Earlier the court was taken through a tedious process of evidence introduction.
Among the items introduced were rectal swabs taken from Saiful and also his clothes worn during the alleged sodomy, including a white Levi’s underwear.
Other items introduced were clothes worn during the alleged sodomy which included a blue- white Ralph Lauren shirt, a pair of blue-black Levis underwear, and also black slacks/pants.
The crowd reacted strongly to Saiful’s testimony that the black pants were a “gift from Anwar”.
A tube of K-Y Jelly, a common lubricant, was also introduced as evidence.
When asked by the prosecution as to what he had initially told the medical doctor at Hospital Pusrawi during the check-up, Saiful replied that in the middle of the check-up he told the doctor that he had been “sodomised”.
“I did not pass motion for two days after the incident,” Saiful told the court.
Saiful also spoke of a meeting he had with Anwar on June 27, 2008 in which he told the Opposition Leader he wanted to quit his job as personal assistant.
This meeting took place after the alleged sodomy.
“I had sent an email to Anwar on Friday morning the 27th of June. A few hours later, he called me and asked me to come to his office.
“He then asked me why I wanted to quit.”
According to Saiful, the reasons he gave the PKR leader in his email was that he lacked discipline, was always late for work and not academically qualified for the post.
He alleged that he was “afraid” of being questioned because he was apparently given more privileges than other staff.
“But this was not the real reason. The real reason was because ‘tak ingin diperlakukan sedemikian lagi (do not wish to be treated like that anymore)’.”
Saiful then claimed Anwar tried to persuade him not to quit, and offered to sponsor Saiful’s studies with full pay and allowances. He said he was scared at the time and agreed to the offer.
“Anwar said that he felt sad and disappointed with my decision, and he had persuaded me not to quit.
“I was afraid to object at that time, so I accepted.”
Later on, lead counsel for Anwar’s defence team Karpal Singh raised an objection to Utusan Malaysian and Sinar Harian carrying a photo caption that was, according to Karpal “out of hand”.
The picture which showed Saiful, Judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah, defence and prosecution lawyers in the bedroom of the alleged incident was captioned “Mohd Saiful Bukhari menunjukkan katil di bilik tidur utama tempat beliau mendakwa diliwat Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim kepada Hakim Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah” (Saiful showing the judge the bed in the master bedroom where he claims to have been sodomised by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim).
Karpal’s argument was that even during in-camera, the bed was never introduced as evidence, therefore the caption is misleading.
The judge, however, dismissed Karpal’s objection.
The court then stood down for a second visit to the condominium where the alleged sodomy took place.
Yesterday, Saiful had told the court he went for a medical check-up only two days after he was allegedly sodomised by the Opposition leader.
Earlier yesterday morning, the court also visited the condominium where Saiful explained how and where the alleged act of sodomy occurred two years ago.
Saiful, who Anwar said was just his “coffee-boy”, continues to be in the witness dock this morning on the third day of the trial.
Solicitor-General II Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden led the questioning on behalf of the prosecution before High Court judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah.
Anwar, the 62-year-old PKR de facto leader, is charged with sodomising Saiful at Unit 11-5-1 of the Desa Damansara Condominium in Jalan Setiakasih, Bukit Damansara here between 3.01pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.
The former deputy prime minister has denied the charge, describing it as “evil, frivolous lies by those in power” when the charge was read out to him. He is charged under section 377B of the Penal Code and can be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years’ jail and whipping upon conviction. The trial is taking place 18 months after Anwar was charged in court in August 2008.
Anwar was charged with sodomy and corruption in 1998 after he was sacked from the Cabinet and was later convicted and jailed for both offences. He was freed in September 2004 and later resurrected his political career by winning back his Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat in a by-election in 2008, which had been held in the interim by his wife.
He had earlier led the opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, to a historic sweep of five states and 82 parliamentary seats in Election 2008.
Hearing continues on Monday.
As Anwar faces prison, PKR infighting intensifies
By Adib Zalkapli - The Malaysian Insider
PKR's de facto leaderm Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is facing an impending prison sentence following the latest sodomy trial. - Picture by Jack Ooi
At least one MP was under pressure to vacate his seat recently and another leader became a victim of a smear campaign to stop his rise in the party ranks. Anwar has not been able to address the issues due to the ongoing sodomy trial that began on Feb 2.
Late last month, Indera Mahkota MP Azan Ismail resigned as the Pahang PKR deputy chairman, a move which started speculation that the first term lawmaker was planning to defect to Barisan Nasional (BN).
State party officials opposed to Azan also began spreading rumours of an impending by-election in Indera Mahkota, a move seen as an attempt to replace Azan with Pahang PKR chairman Datuk Fauzi Abdul Rahman as MP.
Zahrain (middle) is becoming a major headache for the PKR leadership. - Picture by Choo Choy May
The PKR insider alleged that Fauzi had failed to deliver his promise to bring in more senior Umno leaders into the party after he joined PKR.
“He’s unable to strengthen the party and yet wants to ride on our past success,” he added.
Fauzi however dismissed the allegation that he is interested in taking over Indera Mahkota from Azan.
“Even if I am asked to I will not accept it, I don’t want, all the incumbents should be retained, I can go to other places, I can go to Pekan, Temerloh or even Raub,” said Fauzi.
PKR won two parliamentary seats in Pahang, Indera Mahkota and Kuantan, which represented by the party election chief Fuziah Salleh.
“I have nothing personal against him, I believe we should not let infighting in the party divert our attention,” Fauzi told The Malaysian Insider.
“I have been in politics for the past 30, 40 years, I can read his feelings, he is a first-timer, but I think he is handling his job well,” he added.
Azan has revealed attempts by Malaysian ambassador to the United States Datuk Seri Jamaluddin Jarjis and Parti Cinta Malaysia’s Huan Cheng Guan to get him to abandon PKR.
The PKR’s internal crisis has also made its disciplinary committee busier than ever.
Three lawmakers Zulkifli Nordin, Datuk Seri Zahrain Hashim and Tan Tee Beng have been referred to the disciplinary committee for their outburst against PKR’s partners in Pakatan Rakyat (PR).
Also ordered to face the disciplinary committee is former law minister and architect of PR’s common policy framework Datuk Zaid Ibrahim for criticising the party for not taking immediate action against Zulkifli – who had lodged a police report against PAS’s Khalid Samad over the “Allah” row.
Since joining the party in June last year, the Kelantanese political maverick has been seen as an ideal candidate to lead the party should Anwar go to prison for his second sodomy charge.
“His image, and his role in unifying Pakatan is seen as a threat by some leaders since this is election year, it has resulted in attacks from within the party,” said another PKR insider.
The Malaysian Insider understands that during the PR inaugural convention last December, efforts were made by some party officials to downplay Zaid’s contribution to the coalition policy framework.
The party is scheduled to hold its election by the end of this year, and intense contest is expected for PKR deputy presidency, as the incumbent Dr Syed Husin Ali will not defend the post. Anwar’s wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail remains president of the party founded in 1999.
Majority of Perak voters want fresh elections, poll shows
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 — Nearly three in four voters, or 74 per cent, feel that fresh state elections remain the best way to resolve the political crisis in Perak, a new poll conducted on the eve of the first anniversary of Barisan Nasional’s controversial takeover of the government shows. The independent Merdeka Center survey of 805 registered voters also shows that Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir and Pakatan Rakyat’s Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin, the man he replaced, are neck-and-neck in their respective approval ratings.
Zambry’s state-wide approval rating is 43 per cent and is drawn largely from the Malay, and one-half of the ethnic Indian electorate.
Nizar has an approval rating of 46 per cent which is drawn largely from a majority of Chinese, one-half of ethnic Indians and a little over one-third of the Malay electorate.
The Merdeka Center, which has been conducting regular polls since Election 2008, had recently polled the 805 voters who were drawn from large majorities of each ethnic group, and almost equally divided between rural and urban areas.
They were asked their views on the direction of the state, its current economic conditions, their views on government leaders, and the changes that they have seen since the Barisan Nasional takeover in February 2009.
The poll shows that the sentiment favouring fresh polls is detected in all ethnic groups.
“More importantly, 65 per cent of the respondents, comprising large majorities from each ethnic group feel that the Perak political issue remains relevant today, one year since the events took place,” Merdeka Center said in a summary of the poll results obtained by The Malaysian Insider.
Opposed to the latest opinion of Zambry, most Perak voters would like state-wide elections. - Picture by Choo Choy May
Notably, only 45 per cent of Malay voters agreed that the takeover had improved the political position of the community in the state as opposed to 15 per cent who felt that things remained unchanged, and 28 per cent who felt that things had worsened.
Asked to choose between giving the economy a priority or ensuring that the government was democratically elected, 60 per cent of the respondents — including 58 per cent of Malays — felt that democratic elections were more important.
The Merdeka Center poll appears to confirm anecdotal evidence given by political leaders in the state that Zambry and BN has regained some support from among Malays and Indians in the state but the large Chinese community are still largely backing PR and Nizar.
Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir had told The Malaysian Insider earlier this week that he was confident Umno could take 34 seats in the next elections.
The Pangkor assemblyman will know on Feb 9 if he remains Mentri Besar when the Federal Court decides the legality of his appointment after his BN toppled the PR government a year ago.
PR Mentri Besar Nizar’s government collapsed when two PKR state assemblymen joined a DAP lawmaker to turn independent to support the BN to control 31 seats in the 59-seat state assembly.
While Zambry appears to still have his work cut out in winning over Perak voters, he can, however, take heart in the poll results which showed that the number of people saying that the state was moving in the right direction has marginally increased from April 2009, from 31 per cent to 38 per cent.
However, a total of 44 per cent of voters surveyed still felt the state was moving in the wrong direction.
There was a marked difference in response along ethnic lines when voters were asked if they thought the state was moving in the right direction.
A total of 57 per cent of Malay respondents and 48 per cent of Indians but only 12 per cent of Chinese respondents believed that the state was headed in the right direction.
The Merdeka Center also noted that voter sentiments relating to the economy remains mixed and ethnically polarised.
Overall, only 42 per cent of Perak voters surveyed said that present economic conditions were favorable.
With respect to the future, voters are again split with 42 per cent optimistic about the economy while 43 per cent were not.
The survey found that while 60 per cent of Malay respondents were confident with the economic management of the state, only 19 per cent of ethnic Chinese respondents said that they were confident.
Makkal Sakthi party crisis heads to the courts
By Baradan Kuppusamy - The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 — The Malaysia Makkal Sakthi Party saga is landing in court with the faction led by its deputy president A Vathemurthy (picture) filing a forgery case against the president R S Thanenthiran.
Kannan Ramasamy, the “sacked” secretary general of the party told The Malaysian Insider that the suit will be filed at the Shah Alam High Court today and will name as defendants the Registrar of Societies, two ROS officials and Thanenthiran.
The allegation is that the defendants forged parts of the party’s constitution to give powers to the president to sack and appoint any official as he “deems fit.”
Using these powers, Thanenthiran had sacked 14 central committee members and replaced them with his supporters.
Vathemurthy on the other hand is claiming he is the rightful acting president of the party because Thanenthiran had already been sacked earlier by the original central committee.
The tussle for control of the party has also turned farcical with both factions taking turns in recent weeks to change the locks of its office.
The ongoing feud has put paid to a grand plan by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to give the Tamil underclass their own political vehicle.
Their feud has severely damaged their standing among the Tamil masses and turned the party into the laughing stock of the country.
Vathemurthy is now styling himself the party’s “acting president” until a president is found to head their faction.
His faction has been shopping around for candidates and Kannan says “several” individuals have shown interest to become president.
Klang businessman Omms Thiagarajan has announced he is not interested in politics but will only be “adviser.”
It is not clear which faction he will give advice to.
Meanwhile former Hindraf leader and ISA detainee P Gengadharan when contacted denied he was interested to head the Vathemurthy faction of the party.
“No I am not interested,” he said.
Other Hindraf leaders offered the party leadership are believed to include Vasantha Kumar, who has instead joined PKR, and Ganapathy Rao, who is believed to be leaning towards DAP.
Najib launched the party on Oct 10, 2009.
The truth about Saiful's truthfulness that is too strange to be believed
Forget all that you have read in the other blogs for here’s the absolute truth - Saiful is telling the truth.
His only problem is that the truth is too bizarre to be believed.
By WJS
Flashback to the month of June, 2008. What was the most significant incident in the Malaysian political scene? Yes, it was the revelation by one Saiful Bukhari Azlan that former DPM Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had sodomized him.
What, the same bullshit, again????
Needless to say, most people did not believe this story. Most blogs registered extremely negative views from the general public, with a majority of people believing that this claim is false and politically motivated, driven by the upper echelons of the Federal Government to dispose off their greatest political threat of this time - Anwar Ibrahim.
In August 2008, Saiful went to the National Mosque to swear on the Quran that he had been sodomized. His words were met with more scorn and ridicule.
Forget all that you have read in the other blogs for here’s the absolute truth - Saiful is telling the truth.
His only problem is that the truth is too bizarre to be believed.
Keep an open mind, for what is about to be revealed is too mind-blowing to be comprehensible by the average man-on-the-street. It defies common sense not because it defies logic, but only because it far surpasses the finitude of our tiny feeble minds.
Let’s keep it as simple as possible, I’ll lay it out in a linear format but it gets disjointed in between due to the actual non-linear sequence of events in reality.
June 26th, 2008. Saiful was with Anwar at the Desa Damansara Condominium on this hot, lazy afternoon. That's when he got sodomized by Anwar.
June 27th, 2008. A shaken and fearful Saiful does not know what to do. He contemplates suicide. He decides to visit his old pal Najib to get some advice.
June 28th, 2008. To help the poor young man, our Defense Minister did the most selfless thing in his capacity - he granted him access to the nation’s most precious "secret weapon" - the Chronosphere time machine.
June 29th, 2008. Saiful becomes the first Malaysian time traveler. This time, he’s a REAL chrononaut and not a "time tourist".
June 23rd 2008. Saiful ends up 7 days in the past. The time travel experiment was an absolute success.
June 24th 2008. Saiful visits Najib and tells Najib that Anwar had sodomized him. Najib scratches his head at Saiful’s story of time travel, denying all knowledge about a time travel project and a time machine. He tells Saiful to go ahead and do what he likes. Saiful shows Najib the evidence that he’s from the future - the time machine. Najib realizes the truth but he has to conceal it at all cost.
June 25th 2008. Najib brings Saiful’s story to the attention of the Brains of UMNO - Level 4. They decided that this is a good ammunition against their greatest political foe, Anwar Ibrahim, and urges Saiful to make a police report. However, Saiful is a time traveler and he can’t possibly lodge a police report BEFORE the incident had occurred in this timeline! Level 4 advises him to go through the ordeal again but this time, make a police report to implicate Anwar instead of going back in time.
June 26th 2008. Not heeding Level 4’s advice to get shafted by Anwar again, Saiful decided to go into hiding for today. Not being able to sodomize Saiful, Anwar decided to have a meeting with 4 Barisan MPs on the possibility of crossing over to Pakatan.
June 27th 2008. Saiful got slammed by Level 4 and Najib for not carrying out his part of the plan. However, he’s still traumatized by his experience in the previous timeline. Upon further urging and being offered an undisclosed sum of money, Saiful decided to lodge a police report.
June 28th 2008. Saiful abided by rape report procedures and admitted himself into PUSRAWI for a sodomy check-up. To his shock and confusion, the report turned up negative. His anal injuries of the previous timeline were reversed during his trip back in time, and since he didn’t get sodomized in this timeline, there were no signs of injury. Unperturbed, he decided to seek a second opinion at the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital. The result turned up negative as well!
Being a good Muslim and a poor victim of rape during the previous timeline, Saiful decided to lodge a police report anyway, purely out of his righteous stand that justice must be served. And of course, the incentive he got from Level 4 and Najib went a long way towards curing his indecisiveness.
June 29th 2008. The country is in a frenzy. Anwar Ibrahim got slapped with another sodomy allegation 10 years after the last time he was accused of the same thing.
And there you have it! The complete truth of the actual events!!
This actual sequence of events explains everything, namely:
1) Why Saiful insisted that Anwar sodomized him although his anus didn’t show any signs of sodomy.
2) Why Najib said that Saiful had met up personally with him to reveal that he was sodomized by Anwar, but that event took place a few days before the day Saiful claimed to be sodomized.
3) Why, despite the apparent implication that Saiful was sodomized more than once by Anwar (due to him informing Najib that he was sodomized before the 26th of June), Saiful indicated that he was only ever sodomized once.
4) Why Najib is so evasive about the whole issue.. which is, he wanted to cover-up the Malaysian Time Travel project more than anything else, being in the capacity of Minister of Defense.
5) Why Anwar is so confident of his innocence and is able to provide a solid alibi about his whereabouts on that very same day - it’s because he didn’t do it in this timeline, and he WAS indeed with other people at the material time and place.
6) Why the upper echelons in UMNO deployed every manner of state machinery into action to charge Anwar with sodomy - they are going all-out to ensure that justice is upheld and criminals can never escape the long arm of the law, no matter which timeline they’re on.
As I’ve said, the truth is far, far stranger than fiction. Applause and salutes to UMNO and PM Najib. For the interest of maintaining national secrets and national security, and in their capacity as the country’s leaders (and being flawless Muslims at that), they are selfless enough to subject themselves to ridicule; to be portrayed as clueless idiots by the masses; to bear the heavy cross of defending justice and the rule of law across the boundaries of time and space, never to be appreciated by the small-minded citizens; to risk their own reputations and careers for defending the nation and her people no matter how many or how few, right down to defending a single citizen and ensuring that he gets the justice he deserves.
Words can never encapsulate the magnitude of their contributions.
Of Nasir, Najib, 1Malaysia and the Altantuya link
Amid speculation that Nasir Safar was the man Prime Minister Najib Razak entrusted to check up on murdered Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibu the night she went missing, concern is mounting that the PM may let his special officer off the hook despite allegedly making racist comments that contradict his 1Malaysia plan.
By Wong Choon Mei (Harakah
“If Najib wants to be taken seriously, then he should personally order the police to arrest Nasir for making seditious comments that threaten national security and may break the harmony of the different races in Malaysia,” PKR leader and Padang Serai MP N Gobalakrishnan told Harakahdaily.
Earlier this week, Nasir - who claims he never intended to offend anyone - tendered his resignation after allegedly saying that “Indians came to Malaysia as beggars and Chinese especially the women came to sell their bodies” at an official 1Malaysia forum. Since then, he has also made a public apology.
“I would like to again openly apologise to all Malaysians for the remarks that are seen as racist. I really did not intend it that way,” Nasir said in a statement on Thursday.
However, civil society groups and political leaders from both side of the divide say that is not enough. They have demanded that he be sacked and a police investigation be launched immediately.
Move to get Nasir off the hook begins
So far, 12 police reports have been lodged by various quarters throughout the country and according to the Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan, Nasir will be investigated under the Sedition Act.
However, Malay rights pressure group Perkasa – which is linked to Umno – has defended Nasir. “I understand why Nasir said that, I can symphatise with him, I want to say the same things but I have to control myself, I am more mature now,” said Ibrahim Ali, the president of Perkasa.
Indeed, even the 1Malaysia Youth Graduates Club has begun urging Najib to pardon him, with 20 members gathering at the front of the Prime Minister's Department in a show of support for Nasir on Wednesday.
“This issue was a result of provocation," said the club’s deputy chairman Najieb Mokhtar. "He has conducted 60 talks in 2009 and 22 talks so far this year. They were never misconstrued and misunderstood.”
The Altantuya link?
But despite the noise, the shadow play and the behind-the-scenes horse-trading, Malaysians fear that perhaps it is the alleged Altantuya link that will determine Nasir’s fate with his boss - rather than the survivability of Najib's 1Malaysia vision, a platform on which the PM had hoped to unite the races.
“The comments that Nasir allegedly made are a direct contradiction of 1Malaysia, which has already become a joke because it is not being powered by sincerity. Instead it is riddled with flip-flop decisions and hypocrisy,” Salahuddin Ayub, PAS vice-president, told Harakahdaily.
In 2008, private investigator P Balasubramaniam had revealed in an explosive statutory declaration that a Malay man in a blue Proton Saga had passed by the house of Razak Baginda - a close associate of Najib's - on the night of October 19, 2006, when Altantuya's murderers had intercepted her.
According to news portal Malaysia Today, Bala told the police the man in the blue Proton was Nasir Safar. But the police rubbished his claims. Bala was working for Baginda at that time and had witnessed the incidents that took place in front of Baginda's house.
In his statutory declaration, Bala had also alleged that Altantuya had been Najib’s mistress and that the PM had asked Baginda to look after Altantuya financially. Najib has repeatedly denied ever knowing Altantuya, while Harakahdaily is still trying to contact Nasir for his response.
(Harakahdaily appends below the statutory declaration Bala lodged in 2008. He has said he was forced to retract the declaration the very next day by Najib's minders and given money to flee the country)
STATUTORY DECLARATION
I, Balasubramaniam a/l Perumal a Malaysian Citizen of full age and residing at [deleted] do solemly and sincerely declare as follows :-
1. I have been a police officer with the Royal Malaysian Police Force having jointed as a constable in 1981 attached to the Police Field Force. I was then promoted to the rank of lance Corporal and finally resigned from the Police Force in 1998 when I was with the Special Branch.
2. I have been working as a free lance Private Investigator since I left the Police Force.
3. Sometime in June or July 2006, I was employed by Abdul Razak Baginda for a period of 10 days to look after him at his office at the Bangunan Getah Asli, Jalan Ampang between the hours of 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m each working day as apparently he was experiencing disturbances from a third party.
4. I resigned from this job after 2 ½ days as I was not receiving any proper instructions.
5. I was however re-employed by Abdul Razak Baginda on the 05-10-2006 as he had apparently received a harassing phone call from a Chinese man calling himself ASP Tan who had threatened him to pay his debts. I later found out this gentleman was in fact a private investigator called Ang who was employed by a Mongolian woman called Altantuya Shaaribuu.
6. Abdul Razak Baginda was concerned that a person by the name of Altantuya Shaaribuu, a Mongolian woman, was behind this threat and that she would be arriving in Malaysia very soon to try and contact him.
7. Abdul Razak Baginda informed me that he was concerned by this as he had been advised that Altantuya Shaaribuu had been given some powers by a Mongolian ‘bomoh’ and that he could never look her in the face because of this.
8. When I enquired as to who this Mongolian woman was, Abdul Razak Baginda informed me that she was a friend of his who had been introduced to him by a VIP and who asked him to look after her financially.
9. I advised him to lodge a police report concerning the threatening phone call he had received from the Chinese man known as ASP Tan but he refused to do so as he informed me there were some high profile people involved.
10. Abdul Razak Baginda further told me that Altantuya Shaaribuu was a great liar and good in convincing people. She was supposed to have been very demanding financially and that he had even financed a property for her in Mongolia.
11. Abdul Razak Baginda then let me listen to some voice messages on his handphone asking him to pay what was due otherwise he would be harmed and his daughter harassed.
12. I was therefore supposed to protect his daughter Rowena as well.
13. On the 09.10.2006 I received a phone call from Abdul Razak Baginda at about 9.30 a.m. informing me that Altantuya was in his office and he wanted me there immediately. As I was in the midst of a surveillance, I sent my assistant Suras to Abdul Razak Baginda’s office and I followed a little later. Suras managed to control the situation and had persuaded Altantuya and her two friends to leave the premises. However Altantuya left a note written on some Hotel Malaya note paper, in English, asking Abdul Razak Baginda to call her on her handphone (number given) and wrote down her room number as well.
14. Altantuya had introduced herself to Suras as ‘Aminah’ and had informed Suras she was there to see her boyfriend Abdul Razak Baginda.
15. These 3 Mongolian girls however returned to Abdul Razak Baginda’s office at the Bangunan Getah Asli, Jalan Ampang again, the next day at about 12.00 noon. They did not enter the building but again informed Suras that they wanted to meet Aminah’s boyfriend, Abdul Razak Baginda.
16. On the 11.10.2006, Aminah returned to Abdul Razak Baginda’s office on her own and gave me a note to pass to him, which I did. Abdul Razak Baginda showed me the note which basically asked him to call her urgently.
17. I suggested to Abdul Razak Baginda that perhaps it may be wise to arrange for Aminah to be arrested if she harassed him further, but he declined as he felt she would have to return to Mongolia as soon as her cash ran out.
18. In the meantime I had arranged for Suras to perform surveillance on Hotel Malaya to monitor the movements of these 3 Mongolian girls, but they recognized him. Apparently they become friends with Suras after that and he ended up spending a few nights in their hotel room.
19. When Abdul Razak Baginda discovered Suras was becoming close to Aminah he asked me to pull him out from Hotel Malaya.
20. On the 14.10.2006, Aminah turned up at Abdul Razak Baginda’s house in Damansara Heights when I was not there. Abdul Razak Baginda called me on my handphone to inform me of this so I rushed back to his house. As I arrived, I noticed Aminah outside the front gates shouting “Razak, bastard, come out from the house”. I tried to calm her down but couldn’t so I called the police who arrived in 2 patrol cars. I explained the situation to the police, who took her away to the Brickfields police station.
21. I followed the patrol cars to Brickfields police station in a taxi. I called Abdul Razak Baginda and his lawyer Dirren to lodge a police report but they refused.
22. When I was at the Brickfields police station, Aminah’s own Private Investigator, one Mr. Ang arrived and we had a discussion. I was told to deliver a demand to Abdul Razak Baginda for USD$500,000.00 and 3 tickets to Mongolia, apparently as commission owed to Aminah from a deal in Paris.
23. As Aminah had calmed down at this stage, a policewoman at the Brickfields police station advised me to leave and settle the matter amicably.
24. I duly informed Abdul Razak Baginda of the demands Aminah had made and told him I was disappointed that no one wanted to back me up in lodging a police report. We had a long discussion about the situation when I expressed a desire to pull out of this assignment.
25. During this discussion and in an attempt to persuade me to continue my employment with him, Abdul Razak Baginda informed me that :-
25.1 He had been introduced to Aminah by Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at a diamond exhibition in Singapore.
25.2 Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak informed Abdul Razak Baginda that he had a sexual relationship with Aminah and that [deleted by nat out of respect to the family of the deceased].
25.3 Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak wanted Abdul Razak Baginda to look after Aminah as he did not want her to harass him since he was now the Deputy Prime Minister.
25.4 Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Abdul Razak Baginda and Aminah had all been together at a dinner in Paris.
25.5 Aminah wanted money from him as she felt she was entitled to a USD$500,000.00 commission on a submarine deal she assisted with in Paris.
26. On the 19.10.2006, I arrived at Abdul Razak Baginda’s house in Damansara Heights to begin my night duty. I had parked my car outside as usual. I saw a yellow proton perdana taxi pass by with 3 ladies inside, one of whom was Aminah. The taxi did a U-turn and stopped in front of the house where these ladies rolled down the window and wished me ‘Happy Deepavali’. The taxi then left.
27. About 20 minutes later the taxi returned with only Aminah in it. She got out of the taxi and walked towards me and started talking to me. I sent an SMS to Abdul Razak Baginda informing him “Aminah was here”. I received an SMS from Razak instructing me “To delay her until my man comes”.
28. Whist I was talking to Aminah, she informed me of the following :-
28.1 That she met Abdul Razak Baginda in Singapore with Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
28.2 That she had also met Abdul Razak Baginda and Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at a dinner in Paris.
28.3 That she was promised a sum of USD$500,000.00 as commission for assisting in a Submarine deal in Paris.
28.4 That Abdul Razak Baginda had bought her a house in Mongolia but her brother had refinanced it and she needed money to redeem it.
28.5 That her mother was ill and she needed money to pay for her treatment.
6. That Abdul Razak Baginda had married her in Korea as her mother is Korean whilst her father was a Mongolian/Chinese mix.
28.7 That if I wouldn’t allow her to see Abdul Razak Baginda, would I be able to arrange for her to see Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
29. After talking to Aminah for about 15 minutes, a red proton aeroback arrived with a woman and two men. I now know the woman to be Lance Corporal Rohaniza and the men, Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azahar. They were all in plain clothes. Azilah walked towards me while the other two stayed in the car.
30. Azilah asked me whether the woman was Aminah and I said ‘Yes’. He then walked off and made a few calls on his handphone. After 10 minutes another vehicle, a blue proton saga, driven by a Malay man, passed by slowly. The driver’s window had been wound down and the driver was looking at us.
31. Azilah then informed me they would be taking Aminah away. I informed Aminah they were arresting her. The other two persons then got out of the red proton and exchanged seats so that Lance Corporal Rohaniza and Aminah were in the back while the two men were in the front. They drove off and that is the last I ever saw of Aminah.
32. Abdul Razak Baginda was not at home when all this occurred.
33. After the 19.10.2006, I continued to work for Abdul Razak Baginda at his house in Damansara Heights from 7.00 p.m. to 8.00 a.m. the next morning, as he had been receiving threatening text messages from a woman called ‘Amy’ who was apparently ‘Aminah’s’ cousin in Mongolia.
34. On the night of the 20.10.2006, both of Aminah’s girl friends turned up at Abdul Razak Baginda’s house enquiring where Aminah was. I informed them she had been arrested the night before.
35. A couple of nights later, these two Mongolian girls, Mr. Ang and another Mongolian girl called ‘Amy’ turned up at Abdul Razak Baginda’s house looking for Aminah as they appeared to be convinced she was being held in the house.
36. A commotion began so I called the police who arrived shortly thereafter in a patrol car. Another patrol car arrived a short while later in which was the investigating officer from the Dang Wangi Police Station who was in charge of the missing persons report lodged by one of the Mongolians girls, I believe was Amy.
37. I called Abdul Razak Baginda who was at home to inform him of the events taking place at his front gate. He then called DSP Musa Safri and called me back informing me that Musa Safri would be calling handphone and I was to pass the phone to the Inspector from Dang Wangi Police Station.
38. I then received a call on my handphone from Musa Safri and duly handed the phone to the Dang Wangi Inspector. The conversation lasted 3 – 4 minutes after which he told the girls to disperse and to go to see him the next day.
39. On or about the 24.10.2006, Abdul Razak Baginda instructed me to accompany him to the Brickfields police station as he had been advised to lodge a police report about the harassment he was receiving from these Mongolian girls.
40. Before this, Amy had sent me an SMS informing me she was going to Thailand to lodge a report with the Mongolian consulate there regarding Aminah’s disappearance. Apparently she had sent the same SMS to Abdul Razak Baginda. This is why he told me he had been advised to lodge a police report.
41. Abdul Razak Baginda informed me that DPS Musa Safri had introduced him to one DSP Idris, the head of the Criminal division, Brickfields police station, and that Idris had referred him to ASP Tonny.
42. When Abdul Razak Baginda had lodged his police report at Brickfields police station, in front of ASP Tonny, he was asked to make a statement but he refused as he said he was leaving for overseas. He did however promise to prepare a statement and hand ASP Tonny a thumb drive. I know that this was not done as ASP Tonny told me.
43. However ASP Tonny asked me the next day to provide my statement instead and so I did.
44. I stopped working for Abdul Razak Baginda on the 26.10.2006 as this was the day he left for Hong Kong on his own.
45. In mid November 2006, I received a phone call from ASP Tonny from the IPK Jalan Hang Tuah asking me to see him regarding Aminah’s case. When I arrived there I was immediately arrested under S.506 of the Penal Code for Criminal intimidation.
46. I was then placed in the lock up and remanded for 5 days. On the third day I was released on police bail.
47. At the end of November 2006, the D9 department of the IPK sent a detective to my house to escort me to the IPK Jalan Hang Tuah. When I arrived, I was told I was being arrested under S.302 of the Penal Code for murder. I was put in the lock up and remanded for 7 days.
48. I was transported to Bukit Aman where I was interrogated and questioned about an SMS I had received from Abdul Razak Baginda on the 19.10.2006 which read “delay her until my man arrives”. They had apparently retrieved this message from Abdul Razak Baginda’s handphone.
49. They then proceeded to record my statement from 8.30 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. everyday for 7 consecutive days. I told them all I knew including everything Abdul Razak Baginda and Aminah had told me about their relationships with Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak but when I came to sign my statement, these details had been left out.
50. I have given evidence in the trial of Azilah, Sirul and Abdul Razak Baginda at the Shah Alam High Court. The prosecutor did not ask me any questions in respect of Aminah’s relationship with Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak or of the phone call I received from DSP Musa Safri, whom I believe was the ADC for Datuk Seri Najib Razak and/or his wife.
51. On the day Abdul Razak Baginda was arrested, I was with him at his lawyers office at 6.30 a.m. Abdul Razak Baginda informed us that he had sent Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak an SMS the evening before as he refused to believe he was to be arrested, but had not received a response.
52. Shortly thereafter, at about 7.30 a.m., Abdul Razak Baginda received an SMS from Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and showed, this message to both myself and his lawyer. This message read as follows :- “ I am seeing IGP at 11.00 a.m. today …… matter will be solved … be cool”.
53. I have been made to understand that Abdul Razak Baginda was arrested the same morning at his office in the Bangunan Getah Asli, Jalan Ampang.
54. The purpose of this Statutory declaration is to :-
54.1 State my disappointment at the standard of investigations conducted by the authorities into the circumstances surrounding the murder of Altantuya Shaaribuu.
54.2 Bring to the notice of the relevant authorities the strong possibility that there are individuals other than the 3 accused who must have played a role in the murder of Altantuya Shaaribuu.
54.3 Persuade the relevant authorities to reopen their investigations into this case immediately so that any fresh evidence may be presented to the Court prior to submissions at the end of the prosecutions case.
54.4 Emphasize the fact that having been a member of the Royal Malaysian Police Force for 17 years I am absolutely certain no police officer would shoot someone in the head and blow up their body without receiving specific instructions from their superiors first.
54.5. Express my concern that should the defence not be called in the said murder trial, the accused, Azilah and Sirul will not have to swear on oath and testify as to the instructions they received and from whom they were given.
55. And I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same be true and by virtue of the provisions of the Statutory Declaration Act 1960.
SUBCRIBED and solemnly )
declared by the abovenamed )
Balasubramaniam a/l Perumal ]
this day of 2008 )
Before me,
………………………………….
Commissioner for Oath
Kuala Lumpur
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