KUALA LUMPUR – Any orders to kill Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu would have ended with former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, alleged lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
As such, Shafee said any speculated “kill orders” given to former Special Action Unit officers Sirul Azhar Umar and Azilah Hadri for Altantuya’s murder could not have been from his client, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
“If there is an order, at the most, it goes to the level of (Razak). There has been a complete disjoint relationship between (Najib) and Razak,” he said during the Keluar Sekejap podcast, hosted by former Umno members Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Sufian Hamdan.
He said this in response to a question by Khairy, who pointed out the irrationality behind Sirul and Azilah’s actions if done independently.
Khairy also brought up that Razak may have been a close associate of Najib, but he did not hold any power or role in government, while Najib was deputy prime minister at the time.
Instead, Shafee said it “did not make sense” for the two former policemen to claim that they were given orders from a superior to kill as it is a “total crime”.
“If a superior tells you to (commit) murder, you cannot obey that order because it is a crime. These are two pure criminals that acted in the most heinous way to kill an undefended woman, who was probably pregnant, and there is no defence to it.”
Meanwhile, Shafee revealed that he once asked Razak about the nature of his relationship with Altantuya, to which the latter said: “She is my girlfriend, but someone I will never show my boss (Najib). Imagine I show this girl to my boss, I would be embarrassed.”
Shafee also speculated that something “might have gone wrong” that resulted in Sirul and Azilah murdering Altantuya, such as a deportation attempt gone awry.
He said the three may have been involved in a scuffle, noting Altantuya’s “aggressive” nature when handling certain matters. He also theorised that the reason behind the destruction of Altantuya’s remains with explosives could have been to hide evidence, such as semen.
Mentioning that the case was rehashed in 2019, Shafee also claimed it could have been an attempt to get Najib charged with murder, limiting Barisan Nasional’s campaign following its downfall in the 14th general election in 2018.
Sirul and Azilah received the death penalty in 2009 for Altantuya’s murder, who was shot and then blown up with military-grade explosives three years prior. Razak was charged with abetting the murder but was later acquitted without having his defence called.
In 2013, the police duo succeeded in overturning their conviction in the Court of Appeal after a three-member panel found the conviction to be “unsafe”.
However, the Federal Court in 2015 restored their conviction and sentenced them to death.
While Azilah currently remains on death row in Sg Buloh Prison, Sirul fled to Australia before the apex court’s ruling.
He was staying under the custody of Australian authorities at Sydney’s Villawood immigration detention centre, until his release last week.
His release was allowed after the Australian High Court ruled on November 8 that non-citizens who cannot be deported could no longer be held indefinitely. Australia had previously declined to deport Sirul as he faces the death sentence here.
Recently, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said Sirul’s extradition process can only begin if his death penalty is commuted, a feasible possibility due to Parliament’s passing of a bill to abolish mandatory capital punishment.
Following the abolishment, prisoners on death row could apply for a review of their death sentences within 90 days from September 12 this year. As such, the last day for Sirul to apply to the Federal Court to review his death sentence is December 11.
Nevertheless, the Federal Court is authorised to prolong the 90-day deadline if it finds valid grounds to warrant an extension.
Meanwhile, Shafee previously told Scoop that Sirul’s release is “no cause for concern” for Najib, adding that Razak had nothing to do with Najib “in terms of the Altantuya matter”.
Najib is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence for graft convictions at Kajang Prison. – December 1, 2023