The re-publication of a purported text showing exchanges between prime minister Najib Razak and criminal lawyer Shafee Abdullah discussing the arrest of Najib's aide, Abdul Razak Baginda in 2006, looks set to reignite the storm over his much debated alleged links in the case.
The alleged text conversation over the Short Message Service (SMS) spans a period of two weeks between 8 and 23 November, 2006, with another concluding text on December 2 by Shafee urging for an urgent meeting with Najib over a 'troubling' development believed to be linked to Razak's case.
The text was first published by self-exiled blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin's Malaysia Today website in October 2008, a few days before Razak was acquitted of a murder charge on October 31.
Most of the exchanges centred on how to get Razak released on bail. Najib during this time was the deputy prime minister, while Razak, who headed the think-tank Malaysian Strategic Research Centre, had just been arrested by police on November 7, 2006, in connection with the murder of Mongolian agent Altantuya Shariibuu.
Razak, who confessed to having an extra-marital affair with Altantuya was later charged with abetment in the murder, together with two other personnel from the elite Special Action Force connected to the Prime Minister's Office, Azilah Hadri, and Sirul Azhar Umar.
In October 2008 however, Razak was acquitted of the charge, while the two others, whose faces were carefully concealed by police from the media, were sentenced to death.
Despite Razak's acquittal, the trial's conclusion has only led to a prolonged controversy over Najib's involvement in both the case as well as the brutal murder, a charge Najib had strongly denied.
Several statutory declarations have also been issued, not least by Raja Petra, shocking the public with details of Najib's alleged links with the murdered Mongolian woman.
One of the statutory declarations, issued by Razak's private investigator P Balasubramaniam, had even claimed that both Najib and Razak had sexual affair with Altantuya. Only recently, Petra's statutory declaration was thrust into the limelight after he appeared on television urging authorities to investigate a claim by a senior military officer that Najib's wife Rosmah Mansor had been personally involved in the murder.
Authenticity
However, Najib, when asked in 2008 over the SMS exchanges days after being published on Malaysia Today, did not attempt to make any denial.
"It doesn't really matter. The important thing is there is no abuse of power," he said as quoted by daily news portal The Malaysian Insider.
"No need, no need, it is private. Whatever it is, the prime minister [Abdullah Badawi] has said enough. Why should it be of major concern? The important thing is if there is abuse of power and, if you read it carefully, there is no abuse of power, period," he added.
One political blog, steadyaku47, by 63-year old Hussein Abdul Hamid, describing the text as "interesting read", has today republished the exchanges in full.
The accompanying comments, extracted from Petra's original post, speak of abuse of power by Najib due to his "willingness to speak with both members of the Attorney General’s Chambers and Inspector General of Police about the case".
"What is particularly revealing and troubling is that the counsel, Shafee, keeps asking Najib for details indicating some political intervention that may have influenced the case.
"This observation is strengthened by Najib’s message to Shafee on 16 November 2006: 'Pls do not say anything to the press today. i will explain later. RB [Razak Baginda] will have to face a tentative charge but all is not lost',” it said.
No comments:
Post a Comment