Azilah Hadri, one of the two former Special Actions Unit (UTK) commandos convicted for the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu about 18 years ago, had successfully escaped the gallows. His death penalty was commuted to a 40 years and 12 strokes of the cane yesterday (Oct 10, 2024). But his luck also means trouble – even disaster – for former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

 

Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who chaired the Federal Court’s three-judge panel, however, said the decision was not a review of Azilah’s conviction of Altantuya’s murder. It means Azilah is still guilty of the brutal murder of Altantuya. The unanimous decision to allow Azilah’s application to commute his death sentence to jail time was made possible due to a new law passed in April 2023.

 

The law – Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023 – effectively abolishes the death penalty as the mandatory sentence for 12 serious crimes, including murder and terrorism. The bill also gives judges the discretion to impose jail terms of up to 40 years in place of the death penalty.

However, Azilah could remain alive today not merely because of the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Bill 2023 alone. Rather, it was because of two documents presented by his lawyers – a letter from Altantuya’s father Shaariibuu Setev which supported the replacing of Azilah’s death sentence with imprisonment, and Azilah’s supplementary affidavit.

 

Mr Shaariibuu was wise to realize that dead men tell no tales. Azilah had no motive to kill his daughter. The real man behind the murder is still out there, even though he is serving his jail sentence for corruption. The ex-police commando is worth more alive than dead. He was just the errand boy who obediently executed his order from the most powerful man in the country..

 

The most critical part is Azilah’s supplementary affidavit, which included his entire 2019 Statutory Declaration that he had received instructions from then-Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak for Altantuya’s 2006 murder. Crucially, Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun said Azilah’s additional affidavit provides a “strong mitigating factor” and reason for the Federal Court to rule in favour of Azilah.

Having been on the death row in prison for the past 9 years, former chief inspector Azilah can expect to be released from prison in 2034, when he will be 58 years old. While another 10 years seems like a long wait for him, it will be even more excruciating painfor Najib, who was linked to Mongolian beauty Altantuya, believed to be pregnant when she was killed and her body was blown up with military-grade C4 explosives during Najib administration.

 

The murder scandal began with the purchase of French Scorpene-class submarines by Najib Razak in 2002 when he was the defence minister for a whopping €1.2 billion (about RM4.78 billion). Both subs – Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Abdul Razak – came with a €114 million (RM500 million) “commission” for crooked Najib, paid through his close associate Abdul Razak Baginda.

 

French multinational company Thales that designed and built the subs paid €114 million as “consulting work” to Perimekar, a Malaysian company of which Baginda’s wife was the primary shareholder. Altantuya, who was having an affair with Razak Baginda, had gone to his house and demanded US$500,000 which she claimed was owed for her work as a translator in the sub deal.

Thales (which owned a 50% share of prime contractor Armaris and now an indirect share through a stake in DCNS) paid the kickbacks to Perimekar, a company which was only set up in 2001, a few months before the deal were signed, and had no relevant experience or expertise in managing such project. Razak Baginda received a further €30 million, and another €2.5 million to bribe other Malaysian officials.

 

When Razak Baginda refused to pay, a pregnant Altantuya was killed by Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar (both were formerly with the police’s Special Action Unit, UTK). Despite her begging, Ms. Shaariibuu was shot twice in the head, wrapped in C4 military-grade plastic explosives and blown up in Kuala Lumpur’s suburbs on October 19, 2006.

 

Back in 2015, when Al-Jazeera unleashed a damaging documentary – “Murder in Malaysia” – the journalist, Mary Ann Jolley, was deported by 5 Malaysian immigration officers and a man in military outfit. Then-PM Najib had sent the authorities to bully, harass and intimidate the Australian-based journalist. Exactly why was the prime minister so terrified of the documentary?

Apparently, Jolley revealed in the Al-Jazeera weekly that besides two convicted killers from the elite protection squad (Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar), there was a third person at the murder scene. That man was none other than Altantuya’s ex-lover Razak Baginda. And according to Sirul, it was the scumbag Razak Baginda who pulled the trigger and shot the Mongolian.

 

Al-Jazeera also revealed how ex-PM Najib informed buddy Baginda that he had sexual relationship with Altantuya (also known as Aminah). And it was Najib who had introduced Altantuya to Razak Baginda at a diamond exhibition in Singapore. It appeared that after Najib got tired of Altantuya, he passed her to Baginda like a sex toy, after which both became lovers.

 

In fact, private investigator and witness Balasubramaniam’s Statutory Declaration did mention about Najib informing Baginda that Altantuya was susceptible to anal intercourse, suggesting that the (former Prime Minister) Najib lied when he repeatedly insisted that he didn’t know her. And how did Najib know about the anal sex, unless of course, he had experienced it with Altantuya.

Al-Jazeera also exposed how Balasubramaniam was threatened by military intelligence into retracting his first statutory declaration which implicated Najib Razak, in exchange for RM5 million and temporarily “disappear” out of the country, until the then-Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak officially becomes the 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia on 3 April 2009.

 

Azilah and fellow bodyguard Sirul were charged with the murder and sentenced to death in 2009. However, Sirul has denied carrying out the killing, saying that he was acting on orders from his superiors and was only involved in driving Altantuya to the scene. No motive for the killing was ever established and key witnesses were never called in the trial.

 

A year after Najib regime lost power in the 2018 General Election, convicted killer Azilah issued a shocking “Statutory Declaration (SD)” dated October 17, 2019 – admitting that it was Najib Razak who gave him the “shoot to kill” order to terminate the Mongolian mother of two during a meeting on October 17, 2006. Najib claimed Altantuya was a “foreign spy” and was a national security threat.

Azilah said in his SD – “I asked the DPM (Deputy Prime Minister Najib) what was meant by arrest and destroy the foreign spy and the DPM responded ‘shoot to kill’ while showing the sign of slitting the throat. When asked what was meant by destroying the foreign spy’s body, DPM replied ‘Destroy the foreign spy’s body to get rid of traces.'”

 

When the police commando told Najib (who was then Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister) that a police report had to be made on the matter, Najib disagreed and argued that the matter could not be made public as it involved national security. Azilah was told that the foreign spy was a very dangerous woman due to many national secrets she knew. Najib also said Altantuya would pretend to be pregnant.

 

Azilah was briefed by Najib – “The foreign spy could not approach the DPM (Najib) due to the tight security and therefore the spy threatened the DPM’s special officer instead”. The special officer referred to Razak Baginda. Even though Azilah and Sirul had been convicted, the question remains as to why both commandos would abduct and kill a stranger whom they never knew.

The zero motive to kill a defenceless woman was finally unveiled when Sirul said he was merely acting on orders from his superior – DSP Musa Safri. A former aide de camp of Najib, Musa Safri only took orders from his boss. That explains why Musa Safri was never called in the trial as a material witness because to do so would force Musa to testify against Najib Razak.

 

Under Najib regime, a (deliberate) failure on part of the prosecution to call the material witness – DSP Musa Safri – a former aide de camp of the Prime Minister, has obviously raised eyebrows and suspicious. It was a disgraceful cover-up, from the Prime Minister Office of Najib Razak to the Royal Malaysia Police and from the judiciary to the immigration.

 

Najib Razak also lied that there was no proof to show he was involved in the corruption scandal linked to the purchase of French submarines. As revealed by French lawyer William Bourdon, the missing link was the bank accounts of a shell company in Hong Kong called Terasasi (Hong Kong) Ltd, which was used to divert €36 million (RM164 million).

Terasasi was 90% owned by Najib Razak, and the shell company was created by Thales for the purpose of receiving kickbacks in the submarine deal. However, Hong Kong authorities’ refusal to provide the Malaysian and French judiciary access to the accounts had been the “black hole” in solving the Scorpene mystery. Bourdon had filed a corruption complaint as early as 2008.

 

The MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) reopened the Scorpene scandal in November 2018, six months after Pakatan Harapan government took over, and almost 7 years after Najib regime barred Bourdon from entering Malaysia since July 2011. French Magistrate and Financial Prosecutor arrived in Kuala Lumpur in December 2018 to meet various judicial authorities and stakeholders.

 

After Najib lost power in the May 2018 General Election, the new government of Pakatan Harapan – led by Mahathir – wanted to extradite Sirul Azhar, who was being held in the Villawood detention centre in Sydney ever since the convicted killer was arrested in Queensland for overstaying his tourist visa. Unfortunately, the government collapsed after just 22 months thanks to Muhyiddin betrayal.

To make things complicated, Australia had refused to extradite Mr Sirul (former elite bodyguard of Najib) back to Malaysia because the Aussie’s extradition legislation does not allow a person to be surrendered to another country for an offence punishable by death, unless Malaysia has given Australia an undertaking that the death penalty will not be carried out.

 

Interestingly, back in 2018, PM-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim had condemned Australia for ignoring Malaysia’s attempts to deport the convicted murderer Sirul Azhar Umar back to Malaysia. He bashed tainted Australian foreign policies for protecting corruption and criminals. Despite the abolishment of death penalty under Anwar administration last year, Canberra was still unconvinced and chose to wait and see.

 

Now, with Azilah’s death sentence officially reduced to 40 years in prison, Australia has little excuse not to extradite Sirul. On November 8, 2023, Australia’s High Court ruled it was illegal to indefinitely detain non-citizens who couldn’t be deported, therefore, released Sirul from the detention centre after 9 years. However, he had to wear electronic ankle bracelets.

After released, he apologized and asked for forgiveness from the family of Altantuya. While Sirul has no intention of returning to Malaysia, still fearing for his life as Najib may walk free very soon, thanks to a royal pardon approved by Anwar government, the Australian government is now more convinced than ever to extradite him. Canberra can’t permanently keep Sirul, a convicted killer.

 

PM Anwar could make his next move to checkmate Najib, his political threat. What he needs to do is to announce his non-interference in police investigation or judiciary process related to Altantuya. That would send a clear message to the authorities to do their jobs. Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun, the same badass who sent Najib to 12 years in prison, will be more than happy to hear Najib’s lies in the court once again.

 

Other Articles That May Interest You …

• Death Penalty Abolished – Now Killer Sirul Can Be Extradited From Australia To Testify Against Najib’s Murder Of Altantuya
• The Resurface Of Submarine Scandal – Panicked Najib Started Spewing Lies As Plan To Get Royal Pardon Is Under Fire
• 3rd Time U.S. Says “No Saudi Donation” – FBI Confirms Najib Stole RM3.2 Billion, Riza RM1 Billion & Jho Low RM6 Billion
• Sex, Bribes & Blackmail – Najib’s Appeal In Jeopardy After Leissner Exposed More Dirty Deals In 1MDB Scandal
• Only In Malaysia – PM Najib Stole People’s Money, Spy Chief Stole His Money, Anti-Corruption Officers Stole Her Money
• 12 Years’ Jail & RM210 Million Fine For World’s Biggest Crook Najib – A Result Of Insulting The Judge’s Intelligence
• Najib’s Worst Nightmare Has Begun – Killer Exposed The PM’s Executive Order To Kill Mongolian Beauty Altantuya
• Al-Jazeera Interview – How Mary Ann Jolley Skillfully Skins & Grills Najib Till He Runs Away
• Australia To Extradite Killer Sirul – Forget 1MDB, Najib & Rosmah Should Be Very Afraid Of Altantuya
• Why The Hell Didn’t Crooks Najib And Rosmah Flee Instantly After They Lost The Election?
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October 11th, 2024 by financetwitter

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