Malaysia's No. 2 leader fights rival politician's suggestion of ties to murder

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Malaysia's No. 2 leader is fighting efforts by opposition politician Anwar Ibrahim to tie him to a high-profile murder, as the rivals square off in a bitter electoral campaign.

Anwar, himself a former deputy prime minister, has repeatedly claimed that Najib Razak is corrupt, and has tried to link Najib to the murder of a Mongolian woman.

Najib denied any wrongdoing, insisting that Altantuya Shaariibuu's murder case "has nothing to do with me" and accusing the opposition of being "bankrupt of ideas,"

Anwar accused Najib, who is also defense minister, of "deceiving the public" about government defense contracts, and suggested that Najib is connected to the October 2006 murder of Shaariibuu, a 28-year-old Mongolian who had an eight-month-affair with top political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, who has close ties to Najib.

"Who ordered the murder?" Anwar said. "We want to ask Najib, did you know about it? Did you know Altantuya?"

Najib has rejected the taunts by Anwar, who held the No. 2 position under former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad for five years until Mahathir fired him in 1998 over allegations of graft and homosexuality.

Abdul Razak has been charged with abetting the murder of Shaariibuu, who was believed to have been shot and her body blown up with military-grade explosives. Two policemen are charged with carrying out the murder, and their joint trial is scheduled to begin June 4. If convicted, all three face the death penalty.