Deepak: MACC more interested in a ‘cover-up’

'Carpet man' Deepak Jaikishan has asked MACC to reopen their investigations related to the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) was more interested in covering up, rather than investigating, the secret dealings following the 2006 murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.

This was the claim by controversial businessman Deepak Jaikishan, who said that the anti-graft authority had recorded his statement over his role but had taken no further action to follow up.

“I was called by MACC for investigation but the MACC was more interested to cover up the matter,” the well-connected carpet trader said in an interview with PAS mouthpiece Harakahdaily, which was posted in a video online recently.

“I have explained the whole matter. But there was no action. I think they have allowed the case to be closed.”

Deepak said that he now wanted the MACC to reopen the investigations, so that the public can “get to the truth, to find out what really happened. Find out why this matter is left in this way and on what basis this matter was closed.”

“I am sure in MACC there are some people who are good. It’s impossible that everyone wants to listen to a husband and his wife,” said Deepak, in an obvious reference to the Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor, whom he is said to be close to.

“I ask MACC to investigate this truly. The IGP now, or the ex-IGP…anyone… just let the truth come out. So that we can respect our enforcement, not just [people who] follow the instructions of a husband and wife.”

Recently, Deepak re-emerged after a period of silence, in a mission he claimed was to ‘seek forgiveness and justice for Altantuya’.

In a series of interviews in the past few weeks, Deepak has claimed, among other things, that Rosmah was the person who instructed him to seek out private investigator P Balasubramaniam to change his statutory declaration(SD).

In July 2008, Balasubramaniam had first revealed the sworn SD which linked the then deputy prime minister Najib to Altantuya.

However, the next day, the private investigator retracted his first SD via a second SD. He subsequently disappeared and flew out of the country with his family.

On Oct 27 2009, Balasubramaniam came out of hiding and reaffirmed that his first statutory declaration was true. He claimed was offered RM5million to retract it by Deepak together with Najib’s brother Nazim.

More recently, in an Aug 2012 interview with Malaysiakini, Balasubramaniam said there were further attempts to bribe him to implicate PKR by the same people who made him sign the second SD, including Deepak.

Deepak has now confirmed his role in the second SD, claiming that he had met Najib and Rosmah at their residence to discuss the second statutory declaration and that Nazim was sent to negotiate with Balasubramaniam.

Previously, the MACC had interviewed Deepak as well as Nazim, but took Balasubramaniam’s statement in the form of an affidavit. Since then, Balasubramaniam has questioned why there has been no further action by MACC.

Altantuya was shot and murdered in October 2006, with her remains destroyed by C-4 explosives.

Her alleged lover and political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, a close friend of Najib, was charged with the murder with two other policemen . Abdul Razak was acquitted while the policemen were convicted, though a motive was never established.