Malaysian court acquitted a key aide of Deputy Prime Minister

Malaysian court acquitted a key aide of Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak of abetting the murder of a Mongolian woman in 2006.

The verdict could ease political pressure on Mr. Najib as he prepares to assume Malaysia’s premiership next year. But it is also likely to reignite public criticism over the independence and competence of Malaysia’s police, prosecutors and judiciary.

High Court Justice Mohamed Zaki Mohamed Yasin ruled Friday that government prosecutors had failed to establish a prima facie case against 48 year-old Abdul Razak Baginda, a prominent political analyst and close friend and adviser to Mr. Najib.

Mr. Abdul Razak, who is married, had been charged with abetting the killing of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a 28 year-old Mongolian translator and part-time model with whom he admitted he had an eight-month affair. Mr. Abdul Razak would have faced a possible death sentence had he been convicted.

Together with Mr. Abdul Razak, two Malaysian police officers – members of an elite force assigned to Mr. Najib’s personal security detail — were also on trial for allegedly killing Ms. Shaariibuu and then blowing up her body with military-grade plastic explosives.

The court ordered their trial, which began almost two years ago, to proceed and requested the two police officers to submit their defense against the murder charge.

During the 151 day-long trial, the prosecution had argued that Mr. Abdul Razak had ordered the Mongolian woman’s murder when she allegedly hounded him for money after he broke off their affair in 2005. His acquittal appears to leave the prosecution without an alternative motive for the murder allegedly carried out by the police officers.

Mr. Najib’s political opponents have persistently tried to implicate him in the murder investigation, even as he prepared to take over leadership of Malaysia’s ruling National Front government. Mr. Najib is expected to replace Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as premier in March 2009.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim – himself facing trial on charges of sodomy, a crime in Malaysia – earlier this year presented a private investigator, who offered a sworn statement saying that Mr. Abdul Razak had informed him that Mr. Najib had also had an affair with Ms. Shaariibuu. The investigator, P. Balasubramaniam, later retracted his statement and went into hiding.

Prominent antigovernment blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, who is currently imprisoned, has also repeatedly attempted to link Mr. Najib to the murder case in his popular website Malaysia Today. Mr. Petra was arrested without charges under Malaysia’s Internal Security Act in September, allegedly for insulting the Islamic religion.

Mr. Najib has denied ever having met Ms. Shaariibuu or having anything to do with her murder.

Mr. Abdul Razak’s acquittal appears set to fuel a new round of allegations of political interference in police investigations and the judicial system, which for years has faced accusations that it protects the country’s powerful politicians.

“There is growing perception that the investigation was not done professionally. There is a clear motive to cover up — a lot of evidence was not adduced,” opposition leader Mr. Anwar told local reporters Friday. “The prosecution has failed to conduct the case professionally from the beginning.”

Mr. Anwar has contended that allegations of sodomy against him – which he denies – were fabricated to destroy his political career. He was convicted and jailed on similar charges a decade ago before his conviction was later overturned on appeal.

The Mongolian murder trial has also been controversial and studded with false starts and miscues. Early on, the original judge assigned to the trail was replaced and the prosecution team changed. Testimony from some of the more than 80 witnesses called by the prosecution was vague and sometimes contradictory and some evidence was barred from submission or ruled invalid.

Ms. Shaariibuu’s father, who was present at the verdict, told reporters he wasn’t satisfied. “My daughter is dead and [Mr. Abdul Razak] is free,” Shaariibuu Setev told reporters at the court. “The country has lost credibility in the world.”

Mr. Abdul Razak declined to speak to reporters after his acquittal.

By JAMES HOOKWAY
From The Wall Street Journal
01/10/08