From Sydney, a letter for Dr M from Sirul

The letter was given to vocal Mahathir loyalist Khairuddin Abu Hassan, who met with the convicted murderer of Mongolian citizen Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Khairuddin at the Villawood detention centre in Sydney. On his right is an uncle to Sirul Azhar Umar.

PETALING JAYA: Vocal former Umno leader Khairuddin Abu Hassan today emerged from a “heart to heart” meeting with Sirul Azhar Umar in Sydney bearing a letter from the murder convict for Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

They met at the Villawood detention centre where Sirul is currently being detained after he fled to Australia to escape a death penalty.

Khairuddin said Sirul had penned a personal letter for Mahathir.

The envelope containing a personal letter from Sirul Azhar to Dr Mahathir.

It is in a sealed envelope and I will deliver it to the prime minister in a few days,” he told FMT.

Khairuddin said he and Sirul “had a heart to heart talk for about half an hour”.

“Insha Allah, I am confident that the truth of the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder will side with those who have been wronged,” he said.

Sirul, who was convicted of the 2006 murder of Mongolian citizen Altantuya, was sentenced to hang together with his accomplice, Azilah Hadri. Their conviction was overturned in 2013 after questions were raised about how their trial was conducted.

However, the Federal Court upheld their death sentences in 2015, but Sirul had already fled the country by then. Australian law will not allow Sirul to be sent back to Malaysia as he faces the death sentence.

In Sydney, Sirul had claimed he was ordered by “important people” to murder Altantuya, and last month reportedly demanded a full pardon as a condition for returning to Malaysia and giving his story to the new government.

Altantuya was the lover of Abdul Razak Baginda, a former close associate of former prime minister Najib Razak. Razak, accused of arranging kickbacks for the purchase of two French submarines in 2002, was originally charged with abetting Azilah and Sirul in the murder, but was acquitted by the High Court in 2008. The prosecution did not appeal against his acquittal.

Najib has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing over the deal amid allegations that French submarine maker DCNS paid “commissions” of more than €114 million euros for two Scorpene submarines, which critics claim were kickbacks.

On June 20, Mahathir gave his approval for the Altantuya murder case to be reopened, following a meeting with her dad Setev Shaariibuu.

Meanwhile, Khairuddin said Sirul was ready to cooperate with Malaysian police, saying he has more trust in the public institutions under the present government. -FMT