WILL THE REAL SIRUL PLEASE STAND UP? Altantyua killer now HOTTEST bargaining chip in Umno

The question has been raised a number of times. Was it Sirul or someone else who spoke during the press conference organised by PAS Information Chief and MP for Pokok Sena, Mahfuz Omar.

Koperal Sirul Azhar Umar belonged to the special unit, which operates on the orders of the superior, without a question asked.

In the delayed press conference held at PAS’ headquarters recently, a voice claiming to be Sirul is heard saying that he had been made a scapegoat. It remains to be seen, given that this is the Year of the Goat, whether Sirul will spring back to “life” again.

Will he fight back, or will he just remain silent and in custody? Would he not want to return to his homeland as a free man? Would he not want to save his colleague, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri? After all, both were only bodyguards to the then Deputy Prime Minister, Najib Abdul Razak.

Both Sirul and Azilah had someone they were reporting to, one Deputy Superintendent Musa Safri, who was also Najib’s former aide-de-camp. Understandably, Sirul felt “lost” when he and Azilah have to languish in prison cells, the people behind the murder of the Mongolian model are still at large.

Bargaining Chip or Part of A Bigger Scheme?

What has come across to the people is that Sirul had made a feeble attempt at the revenge, but critics who follow through the latest development, claim that Sirul was merely using the PAS platform to achieve a bigger objective.

After all, before Sirul’s press conference, there was another Pakistani carpet merchant who threatened to expose the skeleton in the closet, but critics are fast to point out that, since some deals had been struck, the merchant has disappeared into thin air.

Sirul and Azilah Hadri - Najib's former bodyguards sentenced to hang for killing Altantuya - a woman they did not know and had no motive to kill

Could Sirul be attempting to do the same thing? Or, could he be part of a bigger scheme of things? Is someone trying to use Sirul as the bargaining chip to pressure Najib to step down as prime minister?

After all, why is it that Sirul’s passport was not surrendered to the courts, especially since the case was pending the Federal Court’s decision?

Meanwhile, Sirul has denied that he had any motive to kill Altantuya Shariibuu, acknowledging the murder was so cruel beyond one’s imagination. If he did not, who did? Who instructed him to kill Altantuya? Are these not questions that the current Inspector General of Police would be interested to ask his men to find out?

We will only know it when Sirul comes clean and tell the world what transpired between him, and the other characters in the murder episode that even Sherlock Holmes has found difficult to uncover. Until such time, Sirul’s death sentence remains status quo. He is guilty of murder.

The burden is now on Sirul’s court to reveal all or remain silent forever. The only way to keep him silent forever is death, unless of course, Sirul has told the whole world what happened behind the scene.

But, as one critic asked, “Who knows whether it was Sirul on the phone line? Could it have been someone else?” There are only a few options to choose from: (a) It was someone faking as Sirul, who is now in detention (b) It was someone else faking as Sirul just to make up for the failed teleconferencing with Sirul (c) It was indeed Sirul, the murderer.

Now, will the real Sirul Azhar Umar please stand up?

Such question will soon be answered when Sirul’s mother personally visit her son in prison. Unless the PAS team had been conned, it is unlikely that they were trying to play up a game.

Ministerial Visit

Carpet-trader Deepak, Najib's wife Rosmah Mansor, Najib

Sirul’s detention in Australia has also become part of Australia’s problem.

It is not known what the agenda is but Australian Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Peter Dutton’s courtesy call on Home Minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi may fuel yet more speculations. By now, the Australian authorities would have interviewed Sirul and taken statements from him.

Dutton promised to help the Malaysian authorities with the application for Sirul’s extradition. However, the Australian laws, as we know it, will not allow someone committed to death sentence to be repatriated to their country of origin.

If Australia agreed with the extradition of Sirul, knowing that anything could happen to Sirul’s life especially since the murder case seemingly involved high levels of government, Australia may be blamed for anything that may happen to Sirul. It may mean the present government of John Abbott may suffer the backlash as well.

Therefore, the development of the Altantuya’s case would be interesting to follow until Agatha Christie ends her book with the answers we have long waited for. - MAILBAG