PARLIAMENT
| Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu reiterated today Malaysia's offer to cooperate with French authorities investigating the Scorpene submarines purchase scandal.
This includes slain Mongolian national Altantuya Shariibu's alleged links to the controversial deal made by the previous BN administration in 2002.
"Cooperating with any authority investigating a case has always been our government's stand," Mohamad, who is widely known as Mat Sabu, said to a supplementary question from Ramkarpal Singh (Harapan-Jelutong).
"Investigations are ongoing, so therefore I do not wish to make any additional comments on the investigation," he said during Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.
He added the case was also being probed by the MACC and as such he would refrain from commenting further until a report has been presented to his ministry.
Ramkarpal Singh earlier said he was informed that the French authorities had discovered Altantuya's name in several contracts linked to the vessel's purchase.
"Her name was revealed in the Scorpene sale contracts.
"So there is a possibility that she was involved in the deal, which is now under a graft investigation," he said.
It was reported that the MACC had reopened its probe into the purchase in November last year.
Ramkarpal had asked Mohamad to state the government's commitment to cooperate with the French authorities in establishing Altantuya's role in the deal and whether this was linked to her brutal murder in Malaysia in 2006.
On Tuesday, Mohamad's deputy Liew Chin Tong said Putrajaya is keen to help facilitate the hearing of ongoing cases in France linked to the Scorpene scandal.
Liew also confirmed he had met two French lawyers who will file a legal suit in France on behalf of the NGO Suaram over the case.
Malaysiakini had reported that the two French lawyers - William Bourdon, who was blacklisted from entering the country by the previous BN administration, and his colleague Apoline Cagnat - were in Kuala Lumpur from Feb 10 to 12.
In July 2017, a French court had indicted political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, a close associate of then-defence minister Najib Abdul Razak who oversaw the purchase of the submarines from Thales and DCNS in 2002.
Suaram's civil suit had led to the indictment of several officers from Thales for allegedly paying the kickbacks. - Mkini
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