SUIT AGAINST PM WITHDRAWN

(The Star) – The widow of late private investigator P. Balasubra­maniam has discharged her lawyer following a three-year legal battle.

A. Santamil Selvi announced yesterday that she had officially withdrawn her claims against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and seven others.

“I made the decision on my own, without any coercion or instigation from any party,” she told reporters outside her home here.

Counsel Americk Singh Sidhu confirmed that the case was officially over.

“Now that she has withdrawn this matter and discharged me as her counsel, she has to realise that she is liable for quite a large sum in costs, not to me but the other defendants in the suit,” he said.

In 2013, Santamil and her three children filed a suit against the Prime Minister for their exile from 2008 until 2013.

Americk said he had represented Balasubramaniam since 2008, and his family since 2013 on a pro bonobasis.

“At that time, she couldn’t afford to engage a lawyer.

“But now that she is with this NGO and they are her benefactors, perhaps they should now consider paying me the legal fees,” he added.

“We were suing for RM2mil, and she has given up that RM2mil claim to accept RM21,000. It doesn’t make sense, but it is up to her.”

Yesterday, Pertubuhan Minda dan Social Prihatin Malaysia (Minda) president Ramesh Rao and vice-president Zakwan Hafiz Ahmad Ansari presented Santamil with a RM21,050 donation.

Asked to respond to allegations that the donation was to silence her, Santamil said the money would be used to finance her children’s education.

“Is this amount enough to close my mouth?

“Not enough mah,” she quipped.

She said her 18-year-old daughter received a full scholarship from her college, so the money would be used to finance her eldest and youngest child’s education, adding that they were aged 19 and 14.

Santamil claimed she had been receiving assistance from PKR since the death of her husband in 2013 until March this year, but was not sure if the funds would continue following the donation.

“I now just want to continue my life with my children without relying on any party,” she added.