PETALING JAYA: Two lawyers have urged the government to bring home convicted killer Sirul Azhar Umar from Australia to reopen the "unresolved" murder case of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaaribuu, who was shot and her body blown up in 2006.
Former attorney-general Tommy Thomas it would take only 30 minutes for Malaysia to ensure that Sirul could be extradited from Australia, where he fled in 2015.
"Malaysia just needs to give an undertaking to Australia that Sirul won't face the death penalty on his return. The foreign and home ministers and the attorney general must sit together and write a letter to their counterparts in Australia," Thomas said.
"It's as easy as that — a letter that can be written in half an hour. I think there is no political will. They'd rather it be part of history and want everybody to forget about it. But it can't be forgotten."
The Altantuya case captured headlines as details emerged linking the woman to Abdul Razak Baginda, an aide to then defence minister Najib Razak, speculation about her involvement in a submarine deal between France and Malaysia, and messages between Razak and Musa Safri, another aide to Najib.
Thomas and lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo, who represents Altantuya's family, said Sirul's extradition would allow Malaysian authorities to verify claims about the killing that Sirul made in a statutory declaration while being held in detention by Australian immigration.
Speaking to satellite broadcaster Al Jazeera in a two-part documentary "Murder in Malaysia - Justice for Altantuya" aired today, Thomas and Sangeet said Sirul's claims in his statutory declaration — and those by his accomplice Azilah Hadri in a separate declaration — must be verified in order to reopen the case.
Thomas and Sangeet said the two men should face action for making false declarations if their claims were not true.
Sirul fled to Australia seeking asylum before the Federal Court sentenced him to death. His asylum application was rejected in 2019 and he was held in detention until 2023, when he was released into society; however, he could not be deported to Malaysia under Australian law that prevents deportation where the applicant will face the death penalty.
With Malaysia's mandatory death sentence repealed and Azilah's sentence commuted to 40 years, Thomas said there is no reason Sirul cannot be extradited.
No reply from the AG
Sangeet said she had written to the attorney-general but received no response. "It's their duty to reply,” she said.
If Sirul lied in his affidavit, action should be taken, she said. "And if he is right, something should also be done. My job is simply asking for it to be investigated," she told Al Jazeera.
She said all that Altantuya's family wants is for Malaysia and Australia to find a lawful path through the courts and diplomacy so accountability is finally served. "We must end the standstill, because the standstill is the injustice."
She said the most obvious question is why Azilah, a police commando, would take instructions from Razak Baginda who was not his superior. "That's a question that hasn't been answered and ought to be investigated."
Sangeet noted that Razak, whose abetment charges were dropped, had every opportunity during the hearing of a civil suit filed by Altantuya's father Shaariibuu to state on oath that the two men acted alone.
"He chose not to take it.”
Text messages to Musa Safri
The documentary revealed text messages sent by Razak to Najib's security aide Musa Safri the night before Altantuya's murder.
At 9.35pm, Razak wrote: "Did you get my SMS about wanting to meet at DPM's office?" Three minutes later: "When will you be there? I can drop by in the morning. Tks."
Razak was suggesting a meeting at the office of the deputy prime minister (then Najib Razak), said Amerik Singh Sidhu, a lawyer for the late private investigator P Balasubramaniam who was engaged by Razak to watch Altantuya's movements before she was killed.
"Now, one wonders why and for what purpose. You have Musa Safri organising Azilah and Sirul for Razak, but why involve the deputy prime minister?”
He believes files from the short-lived task force set up by Thomas in the 2018-2020 Pakatan Harapan government should be reopened, as interviews with 40 witnesses had been conducted relating to Sirul's 2019 statutory declaration.
"I think this is a case where the truth must emerge. The truth is the casualty here. Obviously there are vested interests, strong forces. For whatever reasons, they just don't want the truth to emerge, so there must be public pressure."
Altantuya's father, Shaariibuu Setev, a Mongolian professor, has travelled to Malaysia more than 20 times seeking justice for his daughter and vowed not to give up his quest to find the man who ordered the policemen to kill her.
In June, Mongolia's new prime minister, Nyam-Osoryn Uchral, acknowledged the torment and financial hardship Shaariibuu has endured and presented him with an apartment
