Bala surfaces in London and Paris

Malaysia Mirror

WHEN something threatens to become public, and the people in power have no desire for you to know the details, an official investigation is arranged. This way, a good old-fashioned whitewash supported by selected facts is guaranteed. Meanwhile, the truth is obscured.

When private investigator P Balasubramaniam (Bala) discovered that his testimony as a witness in Altantuya's murder was not revealed, and evidence was suppressed by both the police and the prosecution, he felt it his public duty to make a statutory declaration (SD1).

He reasoned that if people were to judge truth from lies, in an objective manner, then access to the facts would be crucial. If the whole truth were not to be given during an official inquiry, the findings only amount to a whitewash that robs the public of their chance to determine what really transpired.

So when it appeared that Bala was not going to keep silent, behind-the-scenes activity resulted in Bala retracting his statutory declaration. The day after, he issued a sanitised version of SD1. This second statutory declaration (SD2) omitted all references to the deputy prime minister and defence minister at the time, Najib Abdul Razak.

Did Bala receive RM5 million?

Interestingly, one of the people who 'persuaded' Bala to release SD2 was the younger brother of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who during a meeting near The Curve in Damansara said, "If you love your family, just follow what Deepak (Jaikishan) tells you to do."

Deepak is a carpet salesman and a good friend of Malaysia's "First Lady".

Another extraordinary point was that when Deepak promised Bala RM5 million to guarantee both his family's safety and his silence, it is also alleged that ASP Suresh, who was to facilitate matters for Bala, was offered RM4-million to act as the middleman.

The press conference in London, on 7th July 2010, held by Bala and his team of lawyers, was supposed to be a platform to discuss issues raised during a scheduled interview of Bala by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). When the MACC cancelled at the last minute, their non-appearance generated more questions than answers.

According to the lawyer Manjeet Singh Dhillon, "What we intended to do if MACC had turned up in London, was for Balasubramaniam to highlight a whole series of events surrounding this Altantuya matter that pointed to the centre of a conspiracy web. A conspiracy at the very highest level to keep out all references to Najib."

Bala's interview with the MACC, which was to have taken place on 5 and 6 July 2010, would have focused on the two SDs and the payment made to Bala to withdraw SD1.

Bala believes his former client, Abdul Razak Baginda, to be innocent of Altantuya's murder. He said, "Abdul Razak Baginda is a scapegoat. He has got nothing to do with the murder. Yes, he was financing her and he had a relationship with her, but as far as I am concerned, he is innocent. In fact, my testimony in court saved him".

He reasoned that if Abdul Razak Baginda hired him until 26 October, 2006, then he can't have known that Shariibuu would be murdered on the night of 19 October 2006.

This is a naïve assumption. What if Abdul Razak Baginda is smarter than we imagine? What is a week's fees if all semblance of innocence can be preserved? That would be the perfect cover and a good decoy. Bala says that Abdul Razak Baginda is a coward and that he lied in his (Baginda's) earlier press conference, soon after his release.

Never mix business with pleasure

Abdul Razak Baginda may have his own reasons for wanting Altantuya eliminated.

If Baginda and his puppet-masters had only paid Altantuya a fraction of what she was promised, it is possible that she would have gone away and none of the Scorpene scandal would have surfaced.

Greed got the better of them and they probably reneged on the deal.

The common themes which seem to drive this sorry saga are greed and sloppy methods. If there is another lesson to be learnt, it is never to mix business with pleasure.

It was reported that Altantuya spoke Russian, Chinese, Japanese and English. There was no reference to fluency in French. How was she assisting Abdul Razak Baginda in the translations? Was he a tight-wad who wanted a translator, on the cheap, who could also double-up as his 'arm-candy'?

Was she an accredited technical translator? The terminology used in hydraulics, electrical systems and chemical exchanges would mystify many ordinary translators.

Altantuya was allegedly promised a commission amounting to US$500,000 for her translating services. Was this the original arrangement or promised by Abdul Razak Baginda in the throes of passion?

Did Altantuya discover, in one of their trysts, that Abdul Razak Baginda's company, Perimekar, would net €114 million in a €1 billion (RM4.5 billion) contract? Did she get too greedy and demand more money?

Taxi driver demanded fare

On the evening of 19 October 2006, Altantuya, her cousin Amy and a friend, went to Abdul Razak Baginda's house by taxi. Two of the girls crossed the road to wait for Altantuya to finalise her business with Baginda, to settle her commission.

When Altantuya was bundled into the red Proton, the taxi-driver rushed after her demanding his RM100 fare. But for his insistence at being paid, we would never have been privy to her murder.

Chief inspector Azilah Hadri was one of Najib's bodyguards who would later be sentenced to death for Altantuya's murder. He was at the scene and only paid the taxi-driver RM50. If he had paid in full, we would never have known the details of the events leading to Altantuya's death.

With Altantuya missing, her two cousins lodged a complaint at the nearest Mongolian embassy, in Bangkok. Amy's testimony forced the taxi-driver who was underpaid, to make a police report at the Tun HS Lee police station. His testimony helped.

If Amy had not been persistent in her search for her cousin, Altantuya's disappearance would have sunk without trace.

Without the evidence of the taxi-driver, to back up Amy's story, Altantuya's abduction may never have surfaced.

This case is just like the submarines purchased by Najib and Abdul Razak Baginda – they have a nasty habit of keeping afloat.