Lim alleges Najib’s consultants behind FAQ statement

DAP Parliamentary leader says PM could not have made such a statement on his own because it sounds “too clever”

KUALA LUMPUR: DAP elder statesman Lim Kit Siang has reminded, in the wake of a FAQ statement in Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s blog, that the Federal Court judgment on the Altantuya Shaariibuu killing did not categorically and conclusively rule out any possibility of him (Najib) or anyone else in any way being implicated in the case.

“This issue was studiously and completely avoided during the nine-year trial of Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar,” said Lim who is also DAP Parliamentary Leader and Gelang Patah MP.

“This is exactly why the issue of who, if anyone, had ordered Altantuya’s killing remains a very live and real issue, and it will continue to be so, so long as this Whodunit question in her murder remains unanswered and unresolved.”

Lim suggested that the government immediately set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry with two terms of reference: (i) Who ordered Altantuya to be killed; and (II) Whether there was a nine-year “conspiracy of silence” involving the Police, the Attorney-General and the judiciary as well as others to avoid probing into the motives for the killing of Altantuya.

Lim thinks that he’s not the only one mulling over the statement in Najib’s FAQ on his blog with regard to “Allegations regarding the Altantuya issue”. “The more one thinks about it, the more one is astounded by it. Najib could not have made such a statement on his own accord, as it is ‘too clever by half’.”

“There’s a most contrived, damaging and tell-tale statement in the FAQ admitting that there was serious public perception that the Prime Minister was implicated in the murder of Altantuya nine years ago.”

Lim alleged that one of Najib’s high paid consultants may have been involved in making the FAQ statement. “What is telling is that Najib said the judgment brings justice to everyone, most importantly to the family of the victim, to the accused and even to him.”

As Prime Minister, added Lim, Najib must ensure that the question of who, if anyone, ordered Altantuya’s murder be answered. “He has declared that he was not involved in the murder and did not know anything about it, and he had even made Sumpah Laknat.”

“So, he should have no qualms about instituting a full inquiry to find answers to the Altantuya’s murder.

Revisiting the Sumpah Laknat, Lim stressed that it was no replacement for a rigorous process of judicial inquiry. “Or else, we might as well do away with the judicial system altogether and just rely on a system of Sumpah Laknat to deal with crimes.”

If Najib was really concerned about ensuring justice for himself and the country’s institutions, particularly the rule of law and his credibility and reputation, said Lim, he and the Cabinet should not delay any further on finding answers.