The ghost of the gruesome, cold-blooded murder that shook the country in 2006 simply refuses to go away; and it probably never will - until the real “murderers” pay the price?
Last Thursday (Oct 10) there was a buzz around the country after news media reported that former police commando Azilah Hadri will no longer have to face the death penalty over Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu’s gory murder in 2006; this was after the the Federal Court had decided to “commute” his sentence to imprisonment of 40 years and 12 strokes of the cane.
Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat who chaired the Federal Court’s three-judge panel, delivered the panel’s unanimous decision and made it clear that the Federal Court’s decision was not a review of Azilah’s conviction of Altantuya’s murder.
Interestingly, Azilah’s lawyers had presented two documents to the court: first was a letter from Altantuya’s father Dr Shaariibuu Setev which supported the replacing of Azilah’s death sentence with imprisonment.
While the second was Azilah’s supplementary affidavit for his application for his death sentence to be commuted which “included his entire 2019 statutory declaration” where he had claimed to have received instructions from the then deputy prime minister Najib Razak for Altantuya’s 2006 murder.
Furthermore, in delivering the apex court’s decision, Tengku Maimun had said the prosecution had not challenged two documents presented by Azilah’s lawyers, and said Azilah’s additional affidavit provides a "strong mitigating factor" and reason for the court to exercise its discretion in favour of Azilah.
Meanwhile, citing Azilah’s 2019 statutory declaration, his lawyer Kuldeep Kumar said that his client had claimed to have been told by the then deputy prime minister Najib and his aide de camp DSP Musa Safri that Altantuya was a foreign spy who exposed national secrets; and as such, he had carried out the brutal murder as he believed it to be a covert operation to safeguard national secrets (which in other words meant that he did not have a motive of his own).
Moreover, his lawyer had also contended that if the death sentence is meted out to Azilah solely, he will be the only one put to death; and that would have meant that based on Australian government laws, Sirul Azhar the other commando found guilty of the Mongolian national’s murder, could never be extradited to face justice.
However, following the changes to Malaysian law last year, prisoners in this country who were sentenced to death for murder could now apply to the Federal Court to replace their sentences with a minimum 30-year imprisonment and caning.
Given this latest development, surely now the question playing on many concerned observers' minds would be: will this latest turnabout be a “game changer” in the tragic murder case where justice seemed to have been only “half served?”
Shockingly, till today, many straightforward questions that baffled even ordinary folks have remained unanswered:
Why was the motive for the murder never established?
Why was Razak Baginda acquitted “without having to stand trial” in spite of his obvious ties with the victim?
Why did he refuse to testify under oath in the high-profile murder case?
Why was Najib Razak never called as a witness although the two convicts were his bodyguards, and furthermore, he was mentioned in the convicted killer’s testimony?
Why wasn’t his aide-de-camp ever called as a witness?
What about the allegation regarding the immigration records of the Mongolian women being erased? If yes, under whose order was that done?
And finally, on the issue of the explosives used to blow up the victim why did the government back then fail to produce the said relevant Register as evidence?
Nevertheless, at this juncture, the best bet to successfully get to the bottom of the entire sordid affair is probably to have Sirul deported to Malaysia. However, will the Australian government relent?
After all, his partner in crime Azilah will no longer be facing the death penalty as “mandatory” death sentences have already been abolished in this country. Note: Australian government’s policy is to never extradite those who are facing the death penalty in their country.
Still, will Sirul, who is now a free man in Australia, be willing to come back and serve another long prison term? In any case, even if he resists, doesn't the Australian government have a moral duty to arrest and deport him given that he is a convicted killer?
On the other hand, does the current government actually have the political will to “reopen” the case especially since the court has now acknowledged the contents of the affidavit by Azilah; in fact, some might insist that, rightfully, it should - as failure to do so may be tantamount to another blatant travesty of justice!
Additionally, Sirul himself had previously sought a moratorium on his sentence in return for a “full expose” about the murder that has been linked to former prime minister Najib by way of his former aide Razak Baginda, but the Malaysian government had rejected it then; will the Madani government now be prepared to “strike a deal” with the convict so that the real culprits can finally be nailed?
Or will the fear that it could open a political Pandora's box that could rattle Umno to its foundations and spell the end of the unity government, put the brakes on such an effort?
Or maybe, there could yet be another significant twist in the tale, and the beginning of a new, final explosive episode, where with Azilah's death sentence now “commuted", inadvertantly it may pave the way for Altantuya’s real “killers” to be hauled to court and be eventually dealt with the full force of the law? After all, with compassion and respect (for life) being two of the six core values that underpin Anwar’s Madani concept of governance, won't critics accuse them of sheer hypocrisy - if they turned a blind eye to a truly heinous crime committed on a helpless young mother of two?
Information source: Malay Mail and NST
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