ALTANTUYA WOULD TURN IN HER GRAVE: Under pressure Najib again relies on his 'religious' oath, Razak Baginda to pre-empt Dr M attack

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak continued to strike back at Dr Mahathir Mohamad by questioning why the former PM is raising the eight year Altantuya Shaariibuu case.

The Altantuya case was first on the list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) on his blog.

In his response, Najib questioned why "influential individuals (with) many resources" are resurrecting the case and implicating him in it.

"If they believe (the allegations about Najib’s involvement) to be true, why did they not raise it when the issue erupted eight years ago? Why now?" he asked.

He said it is "unfair" to ask the government to reinvestigate the case to find out who ordered the murder, when the judicial process had been exhausted.

"I am not involved and do not know anything about it. The court has determined who was guilty of the murder. That should be the end of the story. […]

"Despite the court’s lengthy deliberation and judgement, the ample time given to the appellant to have their case heard and judged, my sumpah laknat (religious oath), the repeated denials I have made, the public explanations provided by Razak Baginda, some people continue to question the issue and keep trying to implicate me.”

Abdul Razak Baginda (photo) is Najib’s associate, who was acquitted of abetment of the Mongolian woman’s murder.

Two former police commandos, then assigned as Najib's bodyguard, were convicted of the murder.

One of them, Sirul Azhar Umar told Malaysiakini he was "under orders".

Although Najib does not mention Mahathir any of responses, the address of the blog entry is http://www.najibrazak.com/bm/tun-m-faq/

Mahathir is often referred to as Tun M.

'Unfair to convict us on 1MDB just yet'

Another of Mahathir's thorny questions to Najib, in his quest to unseat the PM, is the cash-strapped state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

Najib said he had already ordered a public audit on 1MDB and will allow the bi-partisan Public Accounts Committee scrutinise the audit report.

He also reiterated that anyone found guilty of "embezzlement or misappropriation" will be brought to justice, but pre-empting the Auditor-General's report is "not proper procedure".

"It is unfair for certain politicians to convict the government in the court of public opinion way before the actual facts are laid down by lawful authorities, namely the Auditor-General and the bi-partisan PAC [...]," he said.

"If we are sincere in finding out the truth behind those allegations, we need to get the information from legitimate sources (like the Auditor-General) and not third-party news portals or online blogs that might have hidden agendas," he said.

He also defended Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) cash transfer aid programme, which Mahathir claims is "bribery", by saying that is part of a social safety net policy recommended by the National Fiscal Committee.

"Some politicians say that in spite of BR1M, the people are “not grateful.” This is exactly why they believe it is bribery and are not on the same page as the fiscal committee.

"We see it as an economic measure, but these politicians see it purely in the context of politics. Mind you, BR1M is given to everyone regardless of his or her political inclination.

"BR1M is given regardless of when elections are held. My conscience is clear. BR1M is an economic measure, not bribery and I have stated the reasons why," he said.

Similarly, he said, revenue from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Mahathir is critical of, will be largely used to assist the same low-income groups.

Najib's FAQ comes after Mahathir challenged the PM to a public debate.

Mahathir has been incessantly attacking Najib through his blog and through speaking events, while Najib has addressed the attacks in bits and pieces through television interviews and speeches at solidarity gatherings.

In the past weeks, Najib has repeatedly said he will not bow down to pressure to resign. - M'kini