Malaysian NGO SUARAM is sticking to its claim that the French court has issued a subpoena to Jasbir Singh Chahl, a former close aide of Razak Baginda, to testify in the Scorpene corruption trial.
"We have information from our lawyers that a subpoena was issued. We don't have any further information on how long it will take to be served," SUARAM co-ordinator Cynthia Gabriel told Malaysia Chronicle.
Jasbir had sprung a surprise when he denied he had been asked to testify in trial in which Prime Minister Najib Razak is among Malaysian officials accused of taking a 114 million euros or RM570million illicit kickback to procure two submarines from French arms maker DCNS.
He denied he had been summoned or ever played a key role in the Malaysian government's acquisition. SUARAM had on Friday revealed that Jasbir had agreed to co-operate in the trial.
“Following comments made by Suaram co-ordinator Cynthia Gabriel at a fundraising dinner on 15th June ... I wish to make clear that I have not received any subpoena from any jurisdiction in relation to any legal proceedings whatsoever,” Malaysian Insider reported Jasbir as saying on Tuesday.
“These are false and distressing allegations made by someone whom I do not know and indeed have never met. They are a total fabrication, an utter distortion of the truth and, I believe, part of a deliberate attempt to undermine my reputation and my credibility. I call for them to be immediately withdrawn."
A businessman now, Jasbir had allegedly been Baginda's right-hand man in Perimekar previously. Perimekar is the firm controlled by Baginda and through which the kickback was allegedly funneled.
"As we sit at the dinner tables right this moment, a subpoena is on the way to Mr Jalbir Singh Chahl's house. The case is moving forward more concretely," Cynthia told a fundraising dinner on Friday night.
“Jasbir Singh is a central figure in the negotiation process. He has confirmed his cooperation with us."
Jasbir's U-turn - if what SUARAM claimed is true - is not unexpected. Huge sums of money are at stake and so is Najib's political career. Should the whistle be blown on the Scorpene case, pundits are certain Najib would not only be deposed as PM but Umno would also lose the 13th general election which has to be called soon.
Since the SUARAM announcement, Malaysia's hyperactive cyberspace has been buzzing with dark warnings that Najib and Umno would never allow Jasbir to blow the whistle. Many pointed to the example of private investigator P Balasubramaniam who had been hired by Razak Baginda to stop former lover Altantuya Shaariibuu from harassing him.
When Bala blew the whistle on Baginda in2008, revealing that Altantuya was killed because she was blackmailing Baginda over the Scorpene purchase and that Najib had also been lovers with her, he was immediately whisked away the very next day. The statutory declaration was reversed and although Bala has since reiterated that all he had said was true and offered information to the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission, he remains in exile in Chennai, fearing for the safety of his family.
Bala had also dropped a bombshell when he revealed that it was Najib's brother who offered him RM5mil to leave Malaysia immediately.
SUARAM had in 2010 filed a complaint in Paris against DCNS after failing to get the Umno-led government to initiate a full-scale probe on the Scorpene acquisition and Altantuya murder. A Mongolian national, Altantuya was murdered in highly mysterious circumstances in Malaysia in 2006 by 2 of Najib's former bodyguards.
In April, after a lengthy probe by the French cops, the Parisian authorities agreed to appoint an investigative judge to preside over the trial. If found guilty, DCNS may have to compensate the Malaysian people for the inflated pricing of the submarines due to the illicit commissions. Such a finding would also force the Malaysian authorities to finally launch a full scale probe of its own and bring to justice the corrupt ad the criminal.
Apart from Jasbir Singh Chahl, SUARAM has also placed on its witness list Razak Baginda, Najib, current defence minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Balasubramaniam, Setev Shaariibuu who is Altantuya's father, and Lodin Wok, the chief executive of Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera who is also the Boustead Holdings Berhad group managing director and deputy chairman.
Malaysia Chronicle
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