I totally agree with IGP on Kim’s assassination

Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar has put up a very good performance on both investigation and handling of the press conference with regard to the assassination of the North Korean president’s half-brother, Kim Jong-nam.

Let me put on record first that the North Korean ambassador, despite having diplomatic immunity, should not be rude when handling this situation.

Right from the beginning, my observations are that Kang Chol has tried to discredit the Malaysian police and the post-mortem being carried out. If he had evidence that Malaysia was colluding with hidden hands, he should provide the evidence instead of ranting away.

Both Foreign Minister Anifah Aman and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak also deserve the credit for standing up and defending the police investigation into the case.

The North Korean ambassador should not be lecturing Malaysia on human rights, when North Korea itself is known for poor human rights protection.

In fact, it was wrong for him to demand that the body be released to the North Korean government instead of the next-of-kin, not to mention that he should not even object to any post-mortem being carried out by the Malaysian authorities, since this crime took place in Malaysia.

Some myths dispelled

There were attempts to say that the two ladies were only paid a small sum of money to play pranks on the late Kim Jong-nam.

I quote Khalid during his press conference today: “The lady was moving away towards the bathroom. She knew very well that it was toxic, and she had to wash her hands.”

No one, after playing a prank in a public place like this, would walk towards the bathroom and wash herself before escaping in a taxi. The evidences on CCTV are too glaring.

This was all planned and the two lady operatives were most likely being trained to do the job. Immediately after Kim was assassinated, the four North Koreans fled to Pyongyang and till now, no investigation has been carried out by the North Korean authority to arrest these four individuals for further interrogation.

With the arrest of a fourth suspect from a condominium in Jalan Kuchai Lama, it is obvious that this man’s existence in Malaysia is dubious. It is good that a Malaysian gentleman has come forward to reveal that he could have unknowingly sponsored the North Korean man, as would any Good Samaritan.

If, without earning a salary, how could the North Korean survive in Malaysia? Who was funding his stay in Malaysia? I would urge the Malaysian police to establish whether this man could even be a North Korean spy being placed in a friendly nation.

The case has received a lot of publicity, yet the North Korean president has not spoken a word. By now, Jong-un should know that he cannot mess around with Malaysia or treat Malaysia as a killing field.

The Malaysian police should raise a red card to Interpol to look out for these four North Korean fugitives who are believed to have escaped to Pyongyang.

Diplomatic relations have been strained as a result of this murder case; it is time for Malaysia to show that it can no longer tolerate the spat between the North Korean ambassador and the Malaysian authorities over this assassination.

I would suggest that the Malaysian police also treat the abduction case involving a local pastor, Raymond Koh, with great urgency since it involves a Malaysian citizen.

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STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.- Mkini