Najib, Altantuya and submarine

Many versions have come out about the murdered Mongolian lady and the link to the submarine deal, and many more may be in the pipeline.

COMMENT

Finally, I have decided to touch on a topic that would make the average FMT reader filled with glee upon reading the trifecta of conspiracies penned on the title.

Ever since 2008 there were various versions running around in regard to the death of this particularly attractive Mongolian lady. They ranged from the infamous Raja Petra Kamarudin who was once hailed as a hero, a beacon of democracy and the tower of freedom to the latest version from Suaram.

Of course, versions can change and facts and figures seem bendable and adjustable just as long as they fit into the narrative which would conveniently be beneficial to a certain party.

RPK should have learnt that you are only a beacon of democracy if your version of “truth” is beneficial to the cause of toppling Barisan Nasional. I, too, have learnt that being a good writer is not about facts or arguments, but about pandering to the rabid Pakatan Rakyat groups.

Indeed, yes, I do openly admit that I am being biased; everyone is. However, if most of you seem to be fine with the fact that Suaram, which is “researching” this submarine case, consists of mostly PKR sympathisers and politicians, surely, you can give me, an Umno member, the same benefit as you have given to Suaram.

Anyhow, I will try my best to put forth my case and let you folks decide. Why not do me a slight favour of reading this whole article before you decide to put me on a pedestal?

Now, again and again, various stories and versions have been circulating online. They changed according to convenience. For example, for quite sometime the dominant version was that it was Rosmah Mansor one who ordered the hit on Altantuya Shaariibuu.

It originated from Malaysia Today. However, when RPK went public saying this version is not credible, the story has morphed into a different form, yet still keeping to its original spirit of blaming Najib Tun Razak. It is just like another sequel in the Spiderman series: recycle the story as much as possible; once the audience is bored, add in some new special effects, massive marketing and some twist in the plot and voila! another blockbuster is coming your way.

Regardless of your personal version, here is something that really bugs me and it’s something really fundamental. Let us do away with the technicalities and the propped-up numbers, and focus on the basic stuff.

Dodgy deal

Now we all know that Altantuya is a Mongolian lady, who, if I’m not mistaken, happens to be a Russian interpreter. It seems that this attractive lady is the supposed middle person for this whole submarine deal. The story is that since she threatened to blow the whistle on this dodgy deal, the then deputy prime minister and defence minister Najib Tun Razak ordered her to be blown up.

Next we know that the submarine is from a state-owned French company called DCNS. Now please explain to me: if there was indeed an under-the-table deal going on involving millions of dollars, could somebody explain to me why would someone want to use a Mongolian lady to cut a deal with the French?

Are there no Frenchmen out there who can speak decent English? And how does a third-party interpreter fit into this whole scene?

But, of course, some of you will vehemently point out that Altantuya is able to speak “some” French. This information comes from online encyclopaedia Wikipedia that is open to editing by anonymous authors. According to Wikipedia, and I quote, “she [Altantuya] was reportedly fluent in Mongolian, Russian, Chinese, English, and some French”.

Indeed, if I wanted to cut a billion-dollar deal, I would use an interpreter who is somewhat fluent in some French instead of dealing straight with an executive who is able to converse in fluent English.

We now know that Abdul Razak Baginda first met Altantuya in 2004 while the submarine deal was signed in 2002.

When Razak Baginda was acquitted (of the charge of abetting in the murder of the Mongolian woman), the Shaariibuu family lawyer requested that he be brought back to trial, saying that Razak Baginda was the only person that Altantuya knew in Malaysia. So by this statement we can tell that she never really did know who Najib is. You do realise the “lawyer” who represented Altantuya’s father, Shaariibuu, was none other than Karpal Singh.

Middleman fee
Perhaps upon reading this article I wouldn’t be surprised if yet another version of the story emerges.

We have heard Pakatan politicians saying the middleman fee in this submarine deal was in the billion-dollar range: this must be one hell of a great deal.

But fear not, if there is something dodgy in whole deal it involves the police officer who now awaits on death row, former chief inspector Azilah Hadri (who was found guilty of murdering Altantuya along with another police officer).

Just as the trial was about to start, the lawyer who was representing Azilah pulled out of the case, saying that there was external pressure on him which resulted in a conflict of interest in regard to the relationship between him and his client.

Quite a drama, it seems: someone powerful and influential has pressured the inspector’s lawyer (to withdraw from the case). But this lawyer isn’t just a random average lawyer. He also represented Anwar Ibrahim in a “Qazaf” suit against Mohd Saiful Bukhari in the Syariah Court. H was also part of the defence team during Anwar’s first sodomy trial.

This lawyer was none other than current Kulim Bandar Baharu MP Zulkifli Noordin. Bet you didn’t know he was Anwar’s lawyer against Saiful, didn’t you?

Anyway, so why did Zulkifli pull out of the case? Who was this influential figure who pressured him (to pull out)? Well why don’t you ask him yourself; it would be fun, no?

Zaidel Baharuddin is Mr Right, Mr Right Wing that is, electronics engineer by day writer by night, Frank Sinatra fanboy all day long, catch me at WirawanWeb.com, lipassepi.blogspot.com or follow me on twitter via @Sinatra_Z. He is a FMT columnist.