The blogger’s revelation on TV3 has no legal bearing on his 2008 declaration, according to lawyer N Surendran
PETALING JAYA: Despite the latest bombshell from exiled blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, police must still investigate an allegation that Rosmah Mansor was at the scene of the Altantuya murder, PKR vice president N Surendran said today.
He said Raja Petra’s revelation in a TV3 interview aired yesterday had no legal bearing on the contents of the statutory declaration (SD) he signed in 2008 unless there was evidence that he did it under duress.
He noted that Raja Petra, in both the SD and the TV3 interview, said he was “reliably informed” that the Prime Minister’s wife was at the scene when Mongolian model and translator Altantuya Shaaribuu was killed with explosives.
The influential blogger said he received his information from a military intelligence officer, Col Azmi Zainal Abidin.
Surendran, who is also a coordinator for Lawyers for Liberty, said that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had not satisfactorily rebutted allegations by the French newspaper Liberation that there was corruption in the Malaysian purchase of submarines from France. Altantuya was said to be involved in the deal as a translator.
“At the material time, Najib was defence minister and he was responsible for the purchase,” he said.
“There is also no reasonable explanation given as to why the Malaysian company Perimekar received payment of Euro114 million out of the submarine deal. The deal is now the subject of an ongoing French corruption investigation.”
Last year, French authorities opened an investigation into the purchase of the Scorpene submarines following a request from Suaram, which alleged that French shipbuilder DCN had paid the Euro 114 million as commission to Perimekar, a company linked to Najib aide Abdul Razak Baginda.
Abdul Razak was charged with abetting in Altantuya’s murder but the Shah Alam High Court acquitted him in October 2008.
Surendran said he was disappointed that Malaysian authorities were keeping quiet while French authorities were investigating the allegation.
“The allegations and the surrounding issues are so serious and of such wide-ranging impact that we need a royal commission of inquiry to probe it,” he said.
RPK denies implicating Najib, Rosmah
In an interview with TV3 last night, Raja Petra revealed that his statutory declaration linking Najib with the
murder of Altantuya was made based on information and demand by several individuals aimed at preventing Najib from becoming prime minister.
According to a Bernama report yesterday, Raja Petra said he had never accused the prime minister or his wife Rosmah of being involved in the murder of the Mongolian woman and that he no longer believed the story of these individuals.
He added that these individuals were connected to several politicians including Anwar Ibrahim and that they had put pressure on him to do what he did to prevent Najib from taking over from Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who was relinquishing the post.
“I no longer accept the story. I think it’s quite impossible. It can’t be that the prime minister’s wife would want to go to such place; it’s a jungle. I’m imagining, climbing up the hill, going into the jungle at night, at 12 midnight, I think it’s quite impossible,” he said in the exclusive interview, Bernama reported.
He said in the SD he made on June 18, 2008, he had stated that he received information from several individuals claiming that Rosmah was at the scene where Altantuya was murdered.
“In my SD, I said that these people had told (me) and for these people to come forward and tell their stories, and for the authority to investigate and call these people.
“That is what I’ve written in the SD. I’ve never raised any accusation. I didn’t say I knew that the prime minister’s wife was at the scene at that time,” he said.
PETALING JAYA: Despite the latest bombshell from exiled blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, police must still investigate an allegation that Rosmah Mansor was at the scene of the Altantuya murder, PKR vice president N Surendran said today.He said Raja Petra’s revelation in a TV3 interview aired yesterday had no legal bearing on the contents of the statutory declaration (SD) he signed in 2008 unless there was evidence that he did it under duress.
He noted that Raja Petra, in both the SD and the TV3 interview, said he was “reliably informed” that the Prime Minister’s wife was at the scene when Mongolian model and translator Altantuya Shaaribuu was killed with explosives.
The influential blogger said he received his information from a military intelligence officer, Col Azmi Zainal Abidin.
Surendran, who is also a coordinator for Lawyers for Liberty, said that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had not satisfactorily rebutted allegations by the French newspaper Liberation that there was corruption in the Malaysian purchase of submarines from France. Altantuya was said to be involved in the deal as a translator.
“At the material time, Najib was defence minister and he was responsible for the purchase,” he said.
“There is also no reasonable explanation given as to why the Malaysian company Perimekar received payment of Euro114 million out of the submarine deal. The deal is now the subject of an ongoing French corruption investigation.”
Last year, French authorities opened an investigation into the purchase of the Scorpene submarines following a request from Suaram, which alleged that French shipbuilder DCN had paid the Euro 114 million as commission to Perimekar, a company linked to Najib aide Abdul Razak Baginda.
Abdul Razak was charged with abetting in Altantuya’s murder but the Shah Alam High Court acquitted him in October 2008.
Surendran said he was disappointed that Malaysian authorities were keeping quiet while French authorities were investigating the allegation.
“The allegations and the surrounding issues are so serious and of such wide-ranging impact that we need a royal commission of inquiry to probe it,” he said.
RPK denies implicating Najib, Rosmah
In an interview with TV3 last night, Raja Petra revealed that his statutory declaration linking Najib with themurder of Altantuya was made based on information and demand by several individuals aimed at preventing Najib from becoming prime minister.
According to a Bernama report yesterday, Raja Petra said he had never accused the prime minister or his wife Rosmah of being involved in the murder of the Mongolian woman and that he no longer believed the story of these individuals.
He added that these individuals were connected to several politicians including Anwar Ibrahim and that they had put pressure on him to do what he did to prevent Najib from taking over from Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who was relinquishing the post.
“I no longer accept the story. I think it’s quite impossible. It can’t be that the prime minister’s wife would want to go to such place; it’s a jungle. I’m imagining, climbing up the hill, going into the jungle at night, at 12 midnight, I think it’s quite impossible,” he said in the exclusive interview, Bernama reported.
He said in the SD he made on June 18, 2008, he had stated that he received information from several individuals claiming that Rosmah was at the scene where Altantuya was murdered.
“In my SD, I said that these people had told (me) and for these people to come forward and tell their stories, and for the authority to investigate and call these people.
“That is what I’ve written in the SD. I’ve never raised any accusation. I didn’t say I knew that the prime minister’s wife was at the scene at that time,” he said.
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