Private eye Bala's lawyers issue challenge to critics

The three lawyers of former private investigator P Balasubramaniam are outraged at allegations that their legal fees were footed by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Placing Anwar's former private secretary Anuar Shaari who made the claims on Thursday in their cross-hairs, the counsel dared him to provide them with evidence.

"I challenge him. Show us what you have. You have nothing, Anuar Shaari, both in your hands and and in your head.

"I am calling him a liar. Anuar is a liar. He is rubbish and tell half-truths," said the visibly upset senior counsel Manjeet Singh Dhillon (left).

At a press conference in a Kuala Lumpur hotel today, he also refuted Anuar's claims that he has been repeatedly making offers to Anwar's one-time supporter S Nallakaruppan to return to PKR.

"I was just trying to get two friends who were arguing at the time, to reconcile. Anwar and Nallakaruppan's friendship back then, went beyond political parties. If two friends had fallen apart, is it wrong to try to reconcile them?" he asked.

Anuar had also insinuated that Anwar was footing the legal bills and raised questions of how Balasubramaniam is funding his stay in London.

He was also reported to have "urged" the lawyers to declare their salaries and assets to the Inland Revenue Board so that they could prove that they had no links with Anwar.

"Why is it necessary for us to declare our incomes to a party who is not involved in this. Comments by Anuar show he has no idea of what is going on.

"He is nothing," said another of Balasubramaniam's lawyers Americk Singh Sidhu (right).

Manjeet also pointed out that even if Anwar did foot the bill, it is not a crime.

"It just shows that he is just as interested to see the perpetrators of the crime brought to justice. Isn't that a noble thing?" Manjeet asked.

Legal work pro bono

With all that said and done, the lawyers announced that they have been working with Balasubramaniam on a pro bono (voluntary) basis.

"We have never requested money and payment. All we are interested is making sure that justice is done," said Americk.

He later reiterated that Balasubramaniam funded himself through the RM750,000 allegedly "thrust" into his hands by one of the prime minister's wife Rosmah Mansor's associates
and carpet trader Deepak Jaikishan.

Meanwhile, Manjeet said that Balasubramaniam might release hisstatement that he sent to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

"The questions may be marked rahsia (secret), but the answers are not. There will be a time when we will release the answers," he said.

The MACC officers had at the eleventh hour, aborted a meeting with the ex-private eye in London. They later sent a list of 52 questionswith the request that he send his answers in the form of a statutory declaration.

They were to investigate his claims that Prime Minister Najib Razak's brother, Nazim, was "involved" in getting Balasubramaniam to retract his first statutory declaration, detailing the grisly links between Mongolian translator Altantuya Shariibuu's murder and Rosmah as well as Najib.

courtesy of Malaysiakini