Malaysia’s political and judicial systems go on trial with three accused murderers

Tomorrow in a Malaysian courtroom, three men will go on trial – and perhaps Malaysia’s legal and political systems as well – in the spectacular murder of a 28-year-old Mongolian woman, fragments of whose gruesomely maimed body were found last October in the jungle near the suburban city of Shah Alam.
On trial in a Shah Alam High Courtroom over the next 26 days, are Abdul Razak Baginda, 46, once the influential head of a well-connected political think-tank and a close friend of Najib Abdul Razak, the deputy prime minister; and Azilah Hadri, 31, and Sirul Azhar Umar, 36, who were part of an elite unit under Najib’s jurisdiction that guards Malaysia’s top leaders. The two officers are accused of abducting Altantuya Shaariibuu on Razak Baginda’s orders and killing her.
Some 132 names are on the witness list. But none of them is Najib Abdul Razak, although one of his best friends and two of his top employees are named as suspects. Nor, apparently, has he been questioned in the case despite the fact that it would be extremely unusual for two of his employees to take orders from a private citizen –
Abdul Razak Baginda -- to pick up the woman. The two major papers -- the New Straits Times, controlled by the United Malays National Organisation, and the Star, controlled by the Malaysian Chinese Association, the two leading parties in the Barisan Nasional, or national ruling coalition, have largely left alone any mention of Najib's name.

In an affidavit filed in October, Abdul Razak Baginda acknowledged that he had carried on a seven-month romance with Shaariibuu across the globe – in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, France and Malaysia, and that he had given the woman US$10,000 on three separate occasions before the romance turned ugly and he sought to end it. The affidavit also directly implicated Azilah, the chief of Najib’s commando unit, who allegedly told Abdul Razak that he had killed numerous people and that he could “finish off the girl for him.” Azilah’s lawyer denies the officer had ever made that statement.
Shaariibuu, who has been variously described as a part-time model and a translator, was murdered between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20, according to police. When found, she had been shot twice and torn apart with hand grenades available only to Malaysia’s security forces. After two weeks in the jungle, the body had been reduced to bone fragments.
Subsequent reports said that Shaariibuu had had a child by Abdul Razak and that she had shown up in Kuala Lumpur demanding that the political analyst accept his responsibility as the father. After he refused to see her for several days, he allegedly agreed to meet her at his home, where she was shoved into a car by two men and a third member of the force – a 22-year-old woman lance corporal – who was also arrested but not charged.
The female corporal was never named in news stories by Malaysia’s government-friendly press and was released a week later. There is widespread speculation in Malaysia that she is the aide-de-camp and bodyguard to Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor.
However, the involvement of the elite police, who answer only to Najib, and the fact that Abdul Razak Baginda is one of his closest friends, has raised questions about whether the deputy prime minister ordered the bodyguards to do something about Shaariibuu. In his affidavit, Abdul Razak Baginda acknowledged that he had called contacts inside Najib’s office and asked for help.
It was at this point, Abdul Razak said, that Azilah offered his assistance. The affidavit doesn’t say he ever spoke to Najib. But later that night, Azilah called Abdul Razak and told him, "tonight encik (sir), you can sleep well," the affidavit said.
In any case, the affair has escalated into a full-blown political scandal, with former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, now an opposition leader, crisscrossing the country demanding answers to what happened. He made allegations of Najib’s involvement a central issue in a recent by-election in a Perak district, but the United Malays National Organization candidate survived. Opposition leaders have charged that the election was rife with voter irregularities.
“In my personal experience,” Anwar told a press conference at his home, “the (elite police) are there to protect the deputy prime minister and they work under our instructions. He (Najib) should at least be asked how is it a person assigned to you, to protect you and work under your instructions, can (allegedly) commit such a heinous crime.
"It is vital that whilst those who pulled the trigger are brought to justice, all those who are responsible for directing the killing must be made known," he said in a statement. “In fact, such persons bear greater responsibility for the crime."
It hasn’t helped that the case, first scheduled for March 2008, was accelerated over hundreds of others and moved to tomorrow’s trial date. Also, Abdul Razak Baginda was briefly freed on bail, almost unheard of in a capital murder case, before public outrage resulted in his being sent back to jail. The case has also been passed off to a different judge than the original, raising questions among critics.
It has been complicated by the arrival of Shaaribuu Setev, the dead woman’s father, who is the director of the National University of Mongolia’s Information and Educational Center. Last month he criticized Najib Tun Razak for avoiding all responsibility for the murder.
"I take note that Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak has denied...that he was in any manner related to my murdered daughter Altantuya," Shariibuu said in a statement. "But I would like to remind dear Mr. Najib and also the Prime Minister of Malaysia Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that the crime was committed by your security officers,” he said.
Najib has repeatedly denied any involvement in the case. Although Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has indicated his faith in his deputy, political analysts in Kuala Lumpur say it has damaged his political career. It remains to be seen whether the trial will contribute to that damage, or exonerate him.

tunku : i guess anwar speaks by his experience as when he was the deputy prime minister, how he control and abuse his power when he ordered the police to shut ummi hafilda and azizan's mouth,but that doesn't mean that najib is doing it too.anwar should shut up and wait the outcome of this court case, so does everyone.let the judiciary tell us what actually happened and why.