Murdered in Malaysia: The Altantuya Story

By E.S. Shankar

The A-Z of the 2006 murder by C4 plastic explosives of Mongolian national Altantuya who became embroiled in the Malaysian government's US$2.3 billion Scorpene Stealth Submarines procurement contract with France. In the book's final chapter modeled after the famous 1898 expose 'J'accuse' by Émile Zola, author E.S. Shankar lays firmly the blame for a massive cover-up right at the door-step of Malaysia's prime minister Najib Tun Razak and what he has branded, as his government of thieves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jun 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9789671485309

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Author & Publisher

E.S. Shankar

esshankar.com

Copyright© 2017 E.S.Shankar

All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning or other – except for brief quotation in critical reviews or articles - without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

ISBN 978-967-14853-0-9

Lord Ganesha Chathurthy

Vaakkundam, Nalla manamundam,

Mamalaral nokunddam

Grant me purity of mind and thought, expression and eloquence of speech, and of learning governed by Goddess Saraswathi,

And blessings from the goddess Mahalakshmi whose feet rest on lotus flowers,

Mayni nudankathu pookondu thuppar thirumayni,

Thumbikkai yanpatham thapparmal sarvar thammaku

And I shall unfailingly worship daily at your feet with fresh flowers, O’Lord Ganesha.

- st. avvaiyar

To my beloved late mother and father, Vijay who cried, Do it! and a little voice that said,

Prepare for Hell!

MURDERED IN MALAYSIA:

THE ALTANTUYA STORY

by

E.S.SHANKAR

CONTENTS

Author’s Foreword

Foreword by Clare Rewcastle-Brown

Chapter 1     The Players

Altantuya murdered and body blown to bits with explosives

Prime Minister Najib and wife Rosmah accused

Chapter 2     Explosive Murder

In the dark of the night

The explosives

Chapter 3     Altantuya Shaariibuu

Background

Affair with Baginda

Death warning by Jean Bernard Lesnaud

Chapter 4     Abdul Razak Bin Abdullah Malim Baginda

Curriculum Vitae

Baginda and Najib alumni of St. John’s Institution

Rowena Abdul Razak Baginda

Mazlinda Makhzan Abdul Razak Baginda

Chapter 5     Azilah Bin Hadri

Chapter 6     Sirul Azhar Bin Haji Umar

Chapter 7     Scorpene Submarines, Corruption, Murders

RM7.5 billion contract cost and scope

Baginda/Perimekar’s RM575 million co-ordination and support services fee

DCNS, Thales, Armaris, Izar and Novantia

DCNS, Thales, Taiwan Navy corruption scandal and murders

Navy Captain murdered

More murders linked to Taiwan scandal

Roland Dumas Convicted, Thales fined US$985 million

DCNS, Thales, Pakistan Navy corruption scandal, suicide bomb murders

Eleven French engineers killed by two Pakistan suicide bombers

Jasbir Singh Chahl, Ibrahim Mohamed Noor and Daim Zainuddin

The real story

Perimekar, Ombak Laut, Generasi Mulia, LTAT and Boustead Holdings Plc

Baginda flips RM7 million

Deputy Minister confirms commission paid to Baginda/Perimekar

Najib demanded US1 billion

Scorpene submarines finally delivered to Malaysia

The curious case of the Agosta-70 Class Ouessant S623 submarine

Jon-Marie Boivin

SUARAM

The suicide case of Olivier Metzner

Chapter 8     Pre-Trial

The Malaysian Federation and Judicial System

Circus and drama at the Magistrate’s Courts

Mazlinda Baginda-husband innocent, not out to be next PM

More circus and drama at the KL High Court 23 November 2006

More shenanigans at the Shah Alam High Court 14 December 2006

No nonsense Judge Segara at the Shah Alam High Court 5 January 2007

More no nonsense by Judge Segara at KL High Court 19 January 2007

Baginda’s gambit – the Affidavit

Judge Segara removed from trial, Justice hangs head in shame

Chapter 9     False Start

DPP Salehuddin Saidin removed 4 June 2007

The AG nets a smashing shuttlecockamamie!

Chapter 10     Murder Trial (Part 1)

The Protagonists

The Accused and the Murder charge

Cause of Death

The DPP outlines his case

PI Bala, 47

Razak! Bastard! Come out!

SMS from PI Bala to Baginda

Dr. Shaariibuu Setev, 57, Altantuya’s father

Setev weeps, Mazlinda accused of physical assaults, verbal abuse

Namiraa Gerelmaa, 23, Altantuya’s maternal second cousin

I never said Altantuya was married to Baginda

Urintuya Gal-Ochir, 30, Altantuya’s friend

Immigration records deleted, DPP, defence demands testimony expunged

Private Detective Ang Chong Beng, 56

Burmaa Oyunchimeg @ Amy, 26, Altantuya’s paternal first cousin

Amy sent threatening SMS to PI Bala

Altantuya blackmail, suicide, threatening notes

Paris photograph with Najib, Baginda, Altantuya, all hell breaks loose

Lance Corporal Rohaniza Roslan, 29, Azilah’s girlfriend, lies

DPP applies to impeach Lance Corporal Rohaniza Roslan

Lance Corporal Leena Asing contradicts Rohaniza

Rohaniza death threat

Judge Zaki’s incredible verdict on Rohaniza Roslan’s perjury/impeachment trial

Siti Aisyah Binti Mohamad Azlan, 24, Baginda’s secretary

Azilah killed Altantuya

Mohamad Zaini Zainordin, 20

ACP Mastor Mohamad Ariff, 45, UTK Deputy Commander

Sirul’s murder confession, judge orders another voir dire

Prosecution’s case dealt a massive blow!

The curious case of Sirul’s flat keys

Constable Fatimah Abdul Wahab gives lame excuses, gets stroppy, defensive

DSP Lim Meng Siah, 44, arrested Abdul Razak Baginda

DSP M.V. Sri Kumar, 41, UTK Training Officer and Bomb Expert

On explosives and Azilah/Sirul’s lack of expertise in detonations

Jimmy Loo Mow Chan, Hotel Malaya Manager, CCTV pictures of Azilah, Sirul

Jimmy Loo continues, DPP botches simple task

N. Haridharan, Hotel Malaya Front Office Assistant

Zainol Abu Samah, Head of D9, Serious Crimes Division

A visit to the murder site

Chief Inspector Koh Fei Cheow (KFC), 38

Azilah told me he would take me to the crime scene

Sirul revealed Altantuya’s belongings to police 7 November 2006

Kuldeep Kumar for Azilah grills KFC

Hazman for Azilah applies for Voir Dire

Kamarul for Sirul grills KFC

DSP Zainuddin Abdul Samad, 52, Head of Interrogation, blows it!

Zainuddin ridiculed

Zainuddin accused of lying, did not take notes

Azilah did not like to lie

Some thoughts on KFC’s (CI Koh Fei Cheow) testimony

CI Kamarulzaman Othman, 44, statement expunged

ASP Zulkarnain Bin Samsuddin, 24, arrested Azilah

Voir Dire on Sirul’s statements to Zulkarnain, expunged too!

Zulkarnain soldiers on

Zulkarnain on items and notes seized from Azilah and Baginda’s office

Zulkarnain admits numerous administrative errors

Voir Dire on Sirul’s statements to KFC, Sirul claims police fix up

Sergeant Rosli Ibrahim, 36, UTK, keys to Sirul’s flat not the same

Radzi Mohammad Tahir, Sirul’s flat mate

DSP Mohammad Yusri bin Hasan Basri, 33, slips up, charged with perjury

Yusri: my time limit for answering is up, no more questions!

Corporal Chiam Swee Guan contradicts Sergeant Rosli

Lance Corporal Kamarulzaman Mat Nor, 41, police photographer

Sgt. Rosli recalled, denies seeing blood-stained slippers in Sirul’s car

Sergeant Nagendraroo Surapudu of the Bomb Disposal Unit

Judge Zaki wraps up voir dire

Corporal Sim Guek Huang, 35, and Constable Mazlinwaheeda Mansor, 23

Wong Kong Yong, 48, Accredited Documents Examiner

Corporal Siros Mat Isa, 46, and Lance Corporal Ramzan Kamarudin cock-up

Wan Abdullah Bin Wan Ali, 30, and Azman Mohammad Ali, 40

Mohammad Bahir Dal, 38, Rasisi Abdul Razak and Mohammad Rasidi Ariffin

J. Primulapathi, 54, Director of Forensics, Chemistry Department

Superintendent Soo Mee Tong, 51, CSI

Mohammad Roslan Abdul Karim, 32, Computer Programmer

Sergeant Amran Abdul Aziz, UTK, admits confusion, carelessness

Dr. Zainal Effendy, 36, Sgt. Mohammad Saad Kimbok, 49, on blood samples

Shaari Bin Desa, 40, Ballistics, Explosives Expert and Analyst

Dr Noor Azleen Ayop, Emergency Medical Specialist, bungles

Superintendent Amidon, 56, Bukit Aman Forensics Lab CSI Unit Head

DSP Muhammad Koey, 46, Bukit Aman Post Blast Head

Handphone, Touch N Go Smart Card, Toll Highway Plaza

Day 90. Baginda-Die PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Die!

Dr. Mohammad Shah Mahmood, 49, KLGH Forensic Department Head

Dr. Nurliza Abdullah, 43, KLGH Forensic Anthropologist

Dr. Zaleha Manaf, 40, KLGH Radiology Consultant

Chief Investigation Officer (CIO) ASP Tonny Anak Lunggan takes the stand

The DPP rests his case

PI Bala, RPK SD, Karpal demands court summons Najib

CI KFC, ASP Zulkarnain Voir Dire continues, Kamarul exposes discrepancies

Chapter 11     Baginda Acquitted!

No prima facie case against Baginda, Azilah, Sirul ordered to enter defence

Voir Dires in favour of the police

Lance Corporal Rohaniza and DSP Yusri excused for lying

Azilah and Sirul to enter defence 15 January 2009

The Baginda acquittal verdict re-examined

Attorney-General refuses to appeal Baginda acquittal

Baginda defends DPM Najib, quotes Martin Luther, and Shakespeare in error

Chapter 12     Murder Trial (Part 2). Azilah takes the Stand

Musa Safri, Najib’s ADC and Chief of Security contacts Azilah

Azilah and Baginda meet

Sirul Agrees to assist Azilah deal with Baginda’s problem

Hotel Malaya debacle

Baginda calls for help, Azilah, Sirul and Rohaniza respond

The trio meet PI Bala and the Chinese Woman.

Nobody gave any orders, Azilah insists

Azilah blames Sirul, Sirul last seen leaving with the Chinese Woman

Azilah denies killing 6-10 people

Azilah denies crime scene the same

Kamarul cross-examines Azilah

Chapter 13     Murder Trial (Part 2). Sirul from the Dock

The pros and cons of the case against Sirul so far

Sirul pleads from the Dock

Sirul blames Azilah, says last seen leaving with the Chinese Woman

Sirul seems to confess to murder, conspiracy by those not in court

Sirul black sheep, scapegoat

Sirul’s inadmissible 9 November 2006 signed confession

Azilah talked about RM50,000-RM100,000 murder reward money

Sirul’s 9 February 2009 signed unsworn written statement read from the Dock

Chapter 14     The Judge Zaki Verdict

Poor defence

Azilah’s credibility vis-a-vis Rohaniza and Noraliza

Rohaniza’s suspicious alibi

The Verdict

Judge Zaki’s epitaph

Chapter 15     P.I. Bala

Slim River, Bukit Aman, Baginda and Altantuya

From witness to murder suspect to witness

US Embassy eavesdrops in KL, WikiLeaks

SD1

PM Najib swears in mosque that he never met the Mongolian Woman

SD2

Bribery 1 RM5 million offer by Deepak

Finances and Malaysia’s porous borders

MACC inquiry circus, side trip to Paris

Lee Kuan Yew meets Najib and Rosmah

AG closes investigations into PI Bala’s SD1 and SD2

Bribery 2 RM700,000

Bribery 3 RM5 million

Farewell, PI Bala

Chapter 16     RPK

Folk Hero

Daring Blogger

Hell on royal cyber wings

Coup de grace Masterclass SD

Coup d'etat, Tengku Razaleigh for Prime Minister

Damaging TV3 Interview

RPK’S son Raja Azman arrested on trumped up charges

Persecution, bankruptcy, deals and conclusion

Chapter 17     Deepak Jaikishan Rewchand

Carpetman cum Bagman cum Toyboy

Deepak denies

Nuclear fallout from piratisation crony deal gone sour

Deepak finally confesses

Rosmah buys RM13 million (US$4.06 million) diamonds in HK

Rosmah the Witch

The Black Rose 1.0 or Bijan’s Bane by Spirit of Altantuya’s

More lawsuits by Deepak

Rosmah, PM Najib’s wife provides murder ‘alibi’

Deepak cocks a snook

Chapter 18     The Court of Appeal

The appeal is finally heard

Azilah’s grounds of appeal

Sirul’s grounds of appeal

The CoA verdict

Chapter 19     Federal Court Appeal

Court of last resort

The DPP goes over familiar grounds

Azilah and Sirul go over familiar grounds

The final verdict, Azilah and Sirul guilty as charged

Baginda gloats

Do not question motive, warns IGP

Motive determined, Baginda main suspect says ex-IGP Musa Hassan

Chief Justice warns

Chapter 20     Sirul Flees Down Under

Sirul MIA shocker

Chapter 21     Internal Security Act (ISA) 1960

Chapter 22     Sedition Act 1948

Chapter 23     PM Najib-Shafee Abdullah SMS

Chapter 24     Conspiracy to Murder

Shooting the breeze

The central clue

Two central questions – motive and mastermind

High Court, Court of Appeal, Federal Court – Who is the odd man out?

A theory of murder

20 questions

Chapter 25     I Accuse (J’accuse)!

Letter To His Majesty The King of Malaysia

I accuse prime minister Najib Tun Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor

Appendix 1: Let’s Send the Altantuya Murderers to Hell!

Appendix 2: RPK SD 18 June 2008

Appendix 3: PI Bala SD1 1 July 2008

Appendix 4: PI Bala SD2 4 July 2008

Appendix 5: PI Bala Open Letter to the AG 8 November 2010

Appendix 6: PI Bala-RPK 2009 Interview Fingers Najib & Rosmah

Part 1: The mystery unveiled

Part 2: Bala’s prison without bars

Part 3: The Malaysian police catch up with Bala

Part 4: Bala finds his life turned upside down

Part 5: I just want the harassment to end

Appendix 7: Americk Singh Sidhu Malaysiakini Interview

Part 1: Najib linked to PI Bala’s Disappearance

Part 2

Part 3

Appendix 8: Baginda Note Found in Azilah’s Bag

Appendix 9: Altantuya Blackmail Note to Baginda

Appendix 10: Altantuya Note to Malaysian Government

Appendix 11: Altantuya Note 9 September 2006

Appendix 12: Altantuya Demand Note to Baginda

Appendix 13: Altantuya Contact Note to Baginda

Appendix 14: Altantuya Note to Baginda, Spotted Him

Appendix 15: Altantuya Blackmail Note to Baginda

Appendix 16: High Court Verdict 9 APRIL 2009

Appendix 17: SMS and Smart Tag Records October 2006

Sirul - Touch N Go Smart Tag Records

Appendix 18: Court of Appeal Verdict 23 August 2013

Appendix 19: Federal Court Appeal Verdict 13 January 2015

Appendix 20: US Embassy, WikiLeaks and the Altantuya Murder

Appendix 21: Altantuya Was a French Spy?

Appendix 22: Altantuya Murder Timeline

Appendix 23: Abbreviations and Acronyms

Appendix 24: High Court Trial Witness List

Appendix 25: Royal Malaysia Police CID and Branches

Appendix 26: Baginda’s (In)Famous Bail Affidavit 4 January 2007

Appendix 27: Pictures

The Case and the Principal Accused

The Murder Site

Altantuya Notes and Setev Letter

Altantuya in Mongolia and Paris

Altantuya’s parents, cousins and prayers at the death site

Sirul and Azilah Unmasked and Rohaniza Roslan

Abdul Razak Baginda and family

PI Bala

Raja Petra Kamarudin & son Raja Azman

Deepak, Najib and Close Friend and Sister Rosmah

Altantuya C4 Murder Cartoons by Zunar

Author’s Foreword

Your Majesty, I accuse the Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Tun Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor of being the diabolical creators of this miscarriage of justice over the last eleven years, and of defending this sorry deed of Altantuya’s murder and that of her unborn baby, by all manner of ludicrous and evil machinations. I accuse Najib and his wife Rosmah of being the hands, if not behind the conspiracy to murder Altantuya, then most certainly the ones that instituted a complete cover-up. Chapter 25.

With these words, I have thrown down the gauntlet at Malaysian prime minister Najib Tun Razak, and what I have branded as his government of thieves. In simple words, TRUTH and JUSTICE must prevail.

Unchecked power leads to gross abuse of authority, and ultimately, corruption and contempt for the rule of law. The culmination of it all was the brutal murder of Mongolian Altan Shaariibuu, 28, in 2006, deep in the jungles of Malaysia. The truly horrific nature of her execution was revealed globally when it was discovered that her cold-hearted killers had first shot her in the head, and then, had her body blown up to bits with C4 explosives!

The Altantuya murder has all the allure and elements of a classic modern thriller novel, albeit a sad read - multi-billion dollar government-to-government international procurement contracts for stealth Scorpene Submarines, the murky global arms trade, sex, spies, corruption, multiple murders in several countries, blackmail, botched up investigations, government cover-ups, spineless elected politicians, policemen, attorney generals, lawyers, prosecutors and judges. Most of all, cowering behind a sham elected government, are a Malaysian prime minister and his party, hell-bent on clinging on to power at any and all cost.

So long as Najib refuses to order an independent Royal Commission of Inquiry to determine who gave the orders to kill Altantuya, he must stand accused of murder, cover-up and perversion and obstruction of justice. He has brought great shame and disgrace to Malaysia across the world.

Matters have worsened due to his culpable role in the RM46 billion (US$10.5 billion) fraud and fiasco at wholly Ministry of Finance owned company, 1MDB. As also Finance Minister, Chief Advisor and sole approving authority at 1MDB, Najib stands accused of international conspiracy to commit fraud, launder money, misappropriation of funds, abuse of power, failure to discharge his fiduciary duties, falsification of accounts, obstruction of justice and cover-up. He is primarily responsible for promoting a culture of dishonesty and corruption that pervades almost every aspect of his party, UMNO, and government, Barisan National, and his administration.

The world is watching. Many already regard Najib and his government of thieves as a rogue pariah regime. One wrong step and he will send Malaysia careening towards fourth world and failed-nation status!

Malaysians must never allow brazen vindictive murder to be covered-up and brushed aside, especially when committed by those who are elected to high office. We The People, must send a clear message to Najib that he must be held accountable for this most heinous of murders.

The Altantuya slaying must never be allowed to be contemptuously dismissed by Najib, and forgotten in the sands of time.

E.S. Shankar is a Malaysian writer and blogger who has previously authored ‘Let Us Now With Thankfulness’, a memoir of his schooldays, and ‘Tiger Isle:A Government of Thieves’, a satire/fiction novel about corruption in Malaysia published by Gerakbudaya Enterprise. His website is at https://esshankar.com/.

Foreword by Clare Rewcastle-Brown

This meticulously researched, honest and informative book is for you and for all those Malaysians who want to know the full truth about the disgraceful and barbaric murder of a Mongolian girl who had the misfortune to associate herself with certain persons which led ultimately to her murder and the disintegration of her dead body, and perhaps her unborn child, by explosion.

E.S Shankar has produced a tour de force in terms of research and the comprehensive scope of his enquiries, leaving no stone unturned in his quest to bring to light facts that were disgracefully suppressed and covered up by one of the most shocking examples of interference in the judiciary that Malaysia has experienced in its history. The impact on the independence of Malaysia's law enforcement agencies has been far-reaching and malign.

As E.S. Shankar's book makes clear, the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu was not an unpremeditated killing, carried out by rogue cops. It was planned with care and needed the intervention of very powerful people to make it happen - and then when it was discovered, to cover up the truth. And all that simply to save the face and reputation of a very powerful Malaysian personality.

Malaysia owes a debt to this brave author who has dared to lay out the facts that others have attempted to hide. His book may read like a thriller, but it is the chilling truth and everyone should take time to understand its consequence.

Chapter 1   The Players

NB: (Throughout this book, Abdul Razak bin Abdullah Malim Baginda is mostly referred to as Baginda so as to avoid confusion between him and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.)

The golden rays of light first dimmed and then ebbed away forever from the 28-year-old body of Altantuya Shaariibuu or Altantuya,¹ a Mongolian national, on an ill-fated night in October 2006. She was brutally and inhumanely slain without the slightest compunction or sliver of remorse on the part of her killers. Muder was committed deep in the jungles of Shah Alam city in the west-coast state of Selangor, geographically situated adjacent to Malaysia’s capital city of Kuala Lumpur. An extrovert and an extremely beautiful young woman, she had a colourful reputation. She had harboured ambitions of becoming a superstar when she signed up in 2000 with a modelling school in Paris, France, the haute couture capital of the world. Altantuya was also a young translator whose fatal misfortune it was to have been indirectly entangled in the Malaysian government’s defence procurement programme and its often shady, convoluted and labyrinthine, but always secret and highly classified, contract dealings amounting to tens of billions of ringgit. Rumours surfaced that she had been recruited by a foreign spy agency for a honeytrap sting operation.

Altantuya’s disappearance may even have been dismissed and forgotten as one among many uninvestigated, or investigated but unresolved missing persons report or as just another run-of-the-mill death, and possibly covered up, were it not for several extraneous factors.

Altantuya murdered and body blown to bits with explosives

One, Altantuya, whose father was a very prominent Mongolian, was gruesomely blown to bits by explosives planted on her body! Were it not for the hand of fate, as DNA testing had advanced, Altantuya’s murder may well have never been discovered and her body identified with dead certainty. Only her bone fragments and some tissue and hair were retrieved by forensic experts who successfully matched her DNA with blood samples obtained from her parents in Mongolia. Government pathologists certified the cause of her death as ‘from probable blast-related injuries’.

Two, a brace of Malay Muslim police commando officers assigned to then Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Najib Tun Razak’s security detail were charged with Altantuya’s murder. The duo were from the elite Royal Malaysia Police Unit Tindakan Khas (UTK) or Special Action Unit involved in security, special operations and counter terrorism. Najib was appointed Prime Minister on 3 April 2009 when his predecessor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, voluntarily stepped down from office.

Three, deeply implicated in Altantuya’s murder was a very prominent Porsche 911-driving Malaysian, a so-called defence strategist, Abdul Razak bin Abdullah Malim Baginda, a Malay Muslim who owned and headed the Malaysian Strategic Research Institute (MSRI). Baginda was charged with abetment of murder. Though married, Baginda had, by his own admission, committed Khalwat² as a result of having had an affair lasting eight months with Altantuya. He claimed he was subsequently blackmailed by her. He was one of Najib’s closest friends and policy advisers. Baginda moved freely and in chummy familiarity with the top brass in the corridors of power in government, in particular the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces. He was reputed to be the prime mover in the eventual signing of a contract between the Malaysian Navy and a French company, Direction des Constructions Navales Services S.A. (DCNS), a majority French government-owned company, for purchase of two Scorpene search-and-destroy submarines armed with Exocet missiles, estimated to cost RM7.5 billion (US$2.3 billion/€1.5 billion) in total.

That deal earned Baginda’s company, Perimekar Sdn. Bhd.³, a company with no prior expertise whatsoever in submarine technology, training or maintenance, a much disputed and staggering co-ordination and support services fee of RM575 million (US$180 million/€115 million). The fee was paid in 2007 by Armaris, a wholly owned subsidiary of DCNS, which, French lawyers investigating the G-to-G deal, feel clearly implied that the initial contract amount had been illegally inflated, and that the cost was passed on to the Malaysian taxpayer. Perimekar’s board of directors included ex-magistrate Madam Mazlinda Makhzan, Baginda’s wife.

Baginda, who obtained his PhD (doctorate) in International Relations from Trinity College, Oxford University, UK in 2009, was also accused of selling state secrets and classified documents to DCNS for RM142 million (US$44 million/€36 million), an act that would be considered treasonous in any country. This transaction was apparently completed through Terasasi (Hong Kong) Limited, an off-shore company controlled by Baginda and in which his father, Abdullah Malim Baginda, was also a director.

Prime Minister Najib and wife Rosmah accused

Four, never before in the history of any nation have allegations of murder, adultery, corruption and attempts to pervert the course of justice been nailed so firmly and directly to the doors of its prime minister and his wife, as they were against Dato Seri⁴ Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun⁵ Haji Razak and his wife Datin Seri⁶ Rosmah binti Mansor, both Malay Muslims. The stunning accusations and revelations surfaced through two Statutory Declarations (SD) sworn in front of, and witnessed by legally qualified Commissioners of Oaths.

The first SD implicating Najib’s wife Rosmah in Altantuya’s killing, was made by then arguably Malaysia’s most widely read, controversial and famous blogger, Raja Petra Bin Raja Kamarudin (of ‘Malaysia Today’ fame)⁷, more popularly known as RPK. As a result, RPK was arrested and detained under the Internal Security Act and also charged under the Sedition Act with criminal defamation. Eventually, this forced RPK to flee Malaysian shores for exile in Manchester, United Kingdom (UK), where he resides and continues to blog from. (However, he has now be vilified by many Malaysians as ‘an UMNO prepaid blogger’ for doing a complete U-turn and blogging in favour of Najib and his administration).

The other highly revealing SD, replete with salacious detail after salacious detail, including Najib’s alleged lurid sexual involvement with Altantuya (a preference for anal intercourse), was tendered by a private detective, Balasubramaniam Perumal, universally known as PI Bala. On 4 January 2013, a third source of allegations appeared in a satirical novel ‘The Black Rose 1.0’ or ‘Bijan’s Bane’ written by one ‘Spirit of Altantuya’s’ said to be the pseudonym of Malaysian businessman Deepak Jaikishan Rewachand, who claimed to count Najib and Rosmah as close friends, and Rosmah as sister. ‘Bijan’ reads backwards as Najib. At the time of Altantuya’s killing, Najib was Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia as well as its Minister of Defence. In March 2009, Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Gobind Singh of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) was suspended for a year from Parliament with complete loss of salary and perks, for calling Najib a murderer in Parliament.

Five, shortly before the Altantuya trial began on 19 June 2007, a Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) from the Attorney-General’s (AG) Chambers of Malaysia made a startling statement in court that three, and only three persons, were involved in Altantuya’s murder. Coupled with the fact that the judge (jury trials were statutorily proscribed in 1995) and the government’s prosecution team (as well as defence lawyers) were switched on the flimsiest of excuses and pretexts before the trial proper commenced in June 2007, Chief Justice of Malaysia Ahmad Fairuz bin Sheikh Abdul Halim and the AG gave credence to the widespread public belief, that this was a going to be a show trial whose verdict had already been pre-determined, in connivance with the-powers-that-be. Fairuz was forced into retirement in November 2007 after promoting the novel idea that English common law should be replaced with Islamic Syariah Law in secular Malaysia. In 2008, a Royal Commission of Inquiry⁸ hearing into the illegal fixing of appointment of judges recommended that Fairuz, (one of six persons including another former Chief Justice, Eusoff Chin, and former prime minister Mahathir bin Mohamad), be prosecuted for his role in undermining the integrity of the judiciary and bringing it into disrepute.

Six, an acquaintance of mine, blogger Din Merican⁹, a man of impeccable credentials and integrity, and RPK, also played their part. They, and others, set in motion a written declaration that appealed to the nation’s collective conscience and moral duty that might otherwise not have been triggered off. The Altantuya murder story went viral and global.

In his now famous ‘Let’s Send Altantuya’s Murderers To Hell’ blog post of 25 April 2008 (Appendix 1) read by millions, RPK wrote:

"I had dinner with a few friends last night and on the way to the restaurant another good friend, Din Merican, phoned to fill me in on the details of Dr. Setev Shaariibuu’s press conference that was held earlier that day.

I listened as Din filled me in on what transpired and could not help but blurt out, I am a father of two daughters. I can imagine what Shaariibuu must be feeling. Fucking assholes!

I have three daughters, Din responded. These people are animals, bloody animals. Fuck them! Fuck them!

This is what I would call ‘at a loss for words’ — when you just have to say something but no words can fully describe how you feel, then ‘fuck’ is the only word you can use which will console you enough and make you feel you have expressed your anger and disgust in a most ‘appropriate’ manner.

…I found it very difficult to hold back my tears as Din continued with his narration of what Dr. Shaariibuu said at his press conference.

Let’s bring these bastards down, I told Din. Let’s launch a ‘Justice for Altanatuya: restore Malaysia’s dignity’ campaign’ or something like that. These assholes must be sent to hell.

Seven, a complaint by SUARAM or ‘Suara Rakyat Malaysia’ (‘Voice of the Malaysian People’), a non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to human rights, has resulted in a criminal investigation and inquiry in the courts in France, over allegations of massive corruption and bribes in relation to the purchase of two Scorpene submarines by the Malaysian Navy. SUARAM’s French lawyers believe that the ‘co-ordination and support services fee’ of RM575 million (US$180 million/€115 million) paid to Perimekar was a sham arrangement to disguise, conceal and facilitate highly illegal kickbacks to various parties in Malaysia and France.

As a signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), the Malaysian government is duty and honour bound to co-operate and assist the French courts in their inquiry. Included in SUARAM’s list of witnesses in the French inquiry are Najib, ex-Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Baginda who could all face arrest if they ignore the French court summons. UNCAC rules also allow recovery of assets acquired from the spending of corrupt money. Under French law, anyone convicted of bribery could face up to ten years in prison and/or a maximum fine of RM750,000 (US$235,000/€150,000). Judge Roger Le Loire who is heading the French inquiry also headed an earlier bribery inquiry on the sale of three Agosta-class submarines to Pakistan where fourteen persons were killed and forty others injured in a terrorist car-bomb attack. DCNS/Thales was also fined RM3 billion (US$985 million/€630 million) for corruption over sales of six frigates to the Taiwan Navy. In that scandal, five people involved in the contract negotiations, dealings and investigations were found dead under suspicious circumstances. There is an on-going investigation into DCNS’ submarines contracts with the Indian Navy.

Eight, shockingly, till today the Malaysian police and the AG have not identified, arrested, charged and prosecuted anyone else with conspiracy to murder Altantuya. This is despite one of the UTK cops having stated in a written confession to the police, without identifying that person, that he had been offered between RM50,000 to RM100,000 (US$16,000-32,000) to carry out Altantuya’s execution. Neither have successive Home Ministers ordered successive Inspectors-General of Police (IGP) to do their duty and bring to book this person, nor have successive Prime Ministers including Najib or his Cabinet colleagues representing various ethnic-based coalition political parties, demanded that the Home Minister, IGP and AG either carry out their statutory duties and responsibilities, or be relieved of their positions and be charged with gross dereliction of duty. On 9 September 2013, when asked if the police would be carrying out a fresh probe into the 2006 murder of Altantuya, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, the IGP was quoted as saying:

There is no need for the police to carry out new investigations into the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu. The Court of Appeal’s recent acquittal of two former police commandos over Altantuya’s murder was a court decision that should be respected. The matter is still on-going in the courts. That is the court’s findings, so everybody should respect it. An appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision is still available.¹⁰

Nine, Jasbir Singh Chahl, a Malaysian Punjabi Sikh and a restaurateur, emerged in 2013 as a new name in the Scorpene submarines corruption scandal. He claimed to be the original Malaysian architect of the submarines deal with DCNS/Thales. He disclosed in a press interview that he had been working with Thales in Malaysia prior to 2000. Jasbir had exited the scene in 2002 when his RM50 million (US$16 million) lawsuit against Baginda was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum of money.

Ten, in March 2013, the body of 64-year old Olivier Metzner, a criminal law specialist lawyer representing DCNS in the Malaysian Scorpene submarines corruption inquiry in France, was found floating in the Brittany Sea, north-west of France, near his private island in Brittany. A suicide note was found at his residence.

I dare say that such a case as this has never materialised in any other country in modern times. It calls into serious question the supposedly immutable separation of powers among the various arms of government in Malaysia, i.e. the legislative, the executive and the judiciary. SUARAM which claims it is being harassed by the government under Najib, is now being investigated by Bank Negara, Malaysia’s central bank (similar to the USA Federal Reserve) and the Registrar of Societies, allegedly for raising funds for the French inquiry, while operating as an unregistered society. In 2013, Najib, going against the grain, appointed ex-IGP Tan Sri Ismail Omar¹¹, as Malaysia’s new ambassador to France, over the heads of many long-serving career diplomats at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

My debut satire/fiction novel titled ‘Tiger Isle: A Government of Thieves’ was published in 2012. Its theme was endemic corruption, economic looting and plundering and even murder by so-called elected and democratic, but actually repressive and virtually totalitarian regimes, in South East Asia. Are we witnessing the emergence of a Malaysia going past its point of no return and descending to dictatorship, gangsterism and thuggery as rule of law?

Nothing less than Justice itself is on trial in Malaysia as we search for the country’s soul. Those who think they have got away with murder, and looting and plundering the nation’s coffers, had better think again; it’s not quite over yet.

The bone-and-spine-chilling story of Altantuya’s execution and the details that emerged from the investigation, trial, verdict and appeal, will shock and amaze everyone. How could this have happened in Malaysia in the 21st century? How could this have transpired in a supposedly progressive nation, where leaders from the dominant ruling party whose membership is restricted to Malays only United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), claim Malaysia is a moderate and just Islamic nation?

¹ ‘Altan’ meaning gold and ‘Tuya’ meaning ray of light in Mongolian.

² An Islamic law which is also known as the law of close proximity. It basically forbids any Muslim from having sexual relations with another person of the opposite sex, barring legally married couples. Unmarried couples or groups of unmarried persons from both sexes are also prohibited from being together in a closed room, unless supervised by elders such as parents.

³ Short in Bahasa Malaysia, the national language, for Sendirian Berhad or Private Limited Company.

⁴ The highest title (like ‘Sir’) awarded by state Sultans.

⁵ The highest title conferred by the Federal King. Only 35 Tuns can exist at any one time. It is conferred on males only.

⁶ The wife of a Dato Seri.

⁷ http://www.malaysia-today.net/

⁸ The Lingam Tapes Appointment of Judges Fixing Inquiry.

⁹ Din Merican: The Malaysian DJ Blogger at http://dinmerican.wordpress.com/

¹⁰ http://m.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/igp-no-need-for-fresh-altantuya-murder-probe

¹¹ The second-highest title awarded by the Federal Government. Only 75 Tan Sris can exist at any one time. It is non-hereditary. Foreigners may also be awarded Tan Sris.

Chapter 2   Explosive Murder

In the dark of the night

Altantuya Shaariibuu was murdered sometime between the hours of 10 p.m. on 19 October 2006 and 1 a.m. on 20 October 2006, at a place between Lot 12843 and Lot 16735, Mukim Bukit Raja in Selangor state. The death site was near some water tanks close to Subang Dam in Puncak Alam, deep in the lush, green equatorial forest reserves of Shah Alam City.

Two police commando officers of the Unit Tindakan Khas (UTK or Special Action Unit) of the Royal Malaysia Police, Inspector Azilah bin Hadri (Accused No.1), and Corporal Sirul Azhar bin Haji Umar (Accused No.2) were jointly charged with Altantuya’s murder. Baginda (Accused No.3) was charged with abetment in the commission of murder. The UTK is an elite unit involved in security, special operations and counter terrorism, and Azilah and Sirul, officers who had been assigned to Najib’s bodyguard squad.

Sirul had, after a lengthy police interrogation, signed a confession to committing the murder with Azilah:

Along the way, Azilah asked me to find a place to shoot to kill" the Chinese woman. Before arriving at Jalan Duta I noticed the back left tyre of my jeep was punctured. I drove through the Smart Tag lane at the toll booth and stopped on the left hand side of the road to change the tyre.

While I was changing the tyre, I noticed two Road Transport Department (JPJ) officers on duty but I continued to change the tyre with Azilah's help.

After changing the tyre, I drove to my house in Kota Damansara to take the explosives that I had kept there. After taking the explosives I got into the jeep and drove to Sungai Buloh and Kuala Selangor before arriving at the Punchak Alam forest reserve at about 11.00pm.

At the Punchak Alam forest reserve as I was bringing the jeep to a stop, I felt a pain in my stomach and got out of the jeep and relieved myself (defecated) not far away from the jeep. After I had relieved myself, I went back to the jeep and at the same time I saw Azilah outside the jeep carrying a bag containing an M5 weapon and silencer that was kept at the foot rest of the passenger seat in the jeep and gave it to me ordering me to shoot to kill the Chinese woman who was inside the jeep.

After asking for the Chinese woman's articles, the Chinese woman surrendered her jewellery. She then asked to be allowed to urinate. Azilah brought her down from the jeep and I saw the Chinese woman urinating by the side of the jeep.

After urinating, she saw the weapon that I was holding. I saw that she was in a state of fear and she pleaded not to kill her and said she was expecting.

At the same time, Azilah wrestled the woman to the ground and I could see that she had fallen and was in an unconscious state. I opened fire towards the left side of the woman's head.

After the Chinese woman was shot, Azilah removed all her clothes and I took a black garbage bag and Azilah put all the Chinese woman's clothes into the bag.

After putting all her clothes into the bag, Azilah noticed movements in the Chinese woman's arm and ordered me to fire another shot but the gun did not fire. I then emptied the weapon and loaded the gun again and fired another shot at the same area which was the left side of the woman's head. I then took a black plastic garbage bag and with Azilah's help put the bag over the Chinese woman's head to prevent blood from spilling.

After that I lifted the hands of the victim while Azilah lifted the legs of the victim and we carried the victim into the woods. Azilah then carried the bag containing the explosives and handed it to me. I took the explosives and attached it to the victim's head while Azilah attached the explosives on the victim's legs up to the abdomen.

Azilah then pulled the long wire towards the jeep and I altered the position of the jeep so that it faced away from the woods and drove the jeep about 15 metres from the victim.

After the detonation of the explosives, I pulled the excess wire into the jeep and left the scene and headed towards Bukit Aman.

Azilah and I arrived at Bukit Aman at approximately 12 midnight. At the UTK office, Azilah handed me approximately RM430. After that I had a bath and changed clothes and put the clothes that I wore during the incident together with the victim's clothes into a plastic bag.

After that, I entered the jeep and drove the jeep to a rubbish container in the Bukit Aman area near a construction site. I threw some of the victim's belongings and the wire that was used to detonate the explosives together with the empty bag that contained the explosives into the container.

After throwing the things, I drove the jeep out of Bukit Aman and headed towards my house in Kota Damansara. I threw the victim's clothes and my own clothes along the way to my house. I arrived at home at about 1.00am and to lay down to rest and sleep. After that I did not have any contact with Azilah until I was sent back from Pakistan and was arrested."

However, as a result of a voir dire or ‘trial-within-a-trial", presiding Shah Alam High Court Judge Mohamad Zaki bin Mohamed Yasin ruled that Sirul’s signed confession was involuntary and inadmissible as evidence as:

"…there was an obvious inducement and threat inflicted…in procuring the said confession from the 2nd Accused. It is a clear case of the alleged confession being actuated by fear in the mind of the 2nd Accused exacted.…"¹²

Really? Trained cops/commandos should have been interrogated as though it was a fun tea party? Mind you, no evidence was ever produced to remotely suggest that either Azilah or Sirul had been beaten or tortured while in custody. In the signed confession, it also clearly states that Sirul was duly cautioned and that his statement was voluntary. Also, surely the concept of plea bargaining is not so alien to the Malaysian justice system that Sirul should not have been offered a deal to solve the most heinous of murder cases?

The explosives

Altantuya’s body was blown up with two types of explosives, Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate or PETN, and Cyclotrimethylene Trinitramine or Research Department Explosives (RDX). Either, when mixed with plastics and plastic binders, form plastic explosives. PETN when mixed with RDX and plastizers and plastic binders forms SEMTEX, very commonly seen in movies as the white clay-like slab stuck on to doors and walls to blast out terrorists. From day one, the mass media had reported that Altantuya was killed with C4 (composition 4) plastic explosives, in which RDX (91%) is the main detonating component.

On 12 July 2007, DSP M.V. Sri Kumar testified in the Altantuya murder trial that the UTK did not use C4 explosives. This, I believe, was misunderstood by the DPP that C4 explosives were not used to blow up Altantuya. Obviously, the residue from a C4 explosion will contain only its primary constituents i.e. PETN and RDX, which is exactly what was discovered by the government forensic investigators. The DPP appeared to not quite have grasped the significance of the forensic evidence.

¹² PP v Azilah Hadri & Ors (para 85).

Chapter 3   Altantuya Shaariibuu

Background

Altantuya Shaariibuu was born in Ulan Bator, capital of Mongolia on 6 May 1978 to Shaariibuu Setev, a doctor and professor of psychology at the National University of Mongolia, and his wife Altansetseg, a Russian-language teacher. ‘Altan’ in Mongolian means gold, and ‘Tuya’, ray of light. Her parents also gave her the pet name ‘Amina’ which in Mongolian means ‘my life, my own’, she being their first-born child

When Altantuya was about five years old, the Shaariibuu family, which included Altantuya’s younger sister Altantzul, moved to Moscow and two years later to Leningrad. The Shaariibuus moved back to Ulan Bator in 1990, when Altantuya was 12, by which time she had picked up a smattering of Russian and French as well as some Chinese.

In Ulan Bator, The Shaariibuus enjoyed a fairly affluent lifestyle and occupied a 3-bedroom apartment in an upmarket condominium development in 34th Street. In 1996 when she was 18, she gave birth to her first child, a boy, Mungunshagai, through her marriage to 22-year old Maadai, a Mongolian American-style techno-pop idol. As a result of Maadai’s popularity, Altantuya acquired a high profile and celebrity status across Mongolia. The young couple often quarrelled due to Maadai’s long absences from home while on tours, and predictably, that union ended with divorce in 1998.

Shortly after her divorce, she married S. Khunikhuu, the son of a famous Mongolian designer. But that marriage too, which lasted two years without any children, ended in divorce. In 2000, she left for Paris where she studied for and obtained a certificate in modelling. In 2003, she had an affair with a Mongolian and, out of wedlock, gave birth to her second son, Altanshagai Munkhtulga, who is believed to be mentally and physically handicapped. Apparently, Altantuya’s enormous perseverance and dedication helped Altanshagai develop speech and improved mobility of his limbs.

Her parents claimed Altantuya had a flair for languages. Altantuya’s father Setev revealed that besides Mandarin, she had picked up a passable command of Korean and Japanese languages on her own:

She had a Master’s diploma of proficiency in Mandarin and many other certificates bear witness to her increasing knowledge, certify her good command of those languages.

He claimed she was a university graduate who had studied to become an English teacher and translator and later did some part-time translation work in Ulan Bator. But Setev never made it clear exactly which university she had graduated from and which discipline she had a degree in. This bit about her education from Setev is totally in contradiction with the statement by Dr. Orlomkhorol, Director of Otgontenger University, that Altantuya had enrolled at the exclusive and private university specialising in languages and business curricula, frequently skipped classes and finally dropped out in 1997.

Setev also claimed she owned a house, car and a travel agency. According to her High School biology teacher Opoccoo Puntzag, Altantuya had told her in 2005 that she did not pursue a career in fashion modelling.

However, Altantuya’s first cousin on her father’s side, Burma Oyunchimeg @Amy had testified under oath that Altantuya had graduated with a degree in Marketing & Management from the University of Mongolia and was studying English language in Hong Kong when she met Baginda. Amy also claimed Altantuya owned a salon in Mongolia.

S. Oyunaa, a close friend from her schooldays, revealed in a press interview that Altantuya had commenced a business in importing textiles and ready-to-wear fashion clothes from China. She said that Altantuya travelled frequently to Beijing, Shanghai, Canton, Hong Kong and Taiwan on sourcing trips and tried to impress her friends by talking about the top hotels, restaurants and nightclubs she patronised overseas. Oyunaa intimated that Altantuya dreamt of being a super-model and would dress like a femme fatale even for ordinary social gatherings. Altantuya had done part-time modelling work for a magazine to promote some jewellery she had imported from Korea.

Affair with Baginda

Altantuya apparently moved to Hong Kong in 2005 allegedly as a high-class professional escort, though this has never been conclusively confirmed. But, based on Abdul Razak Baginda’s statement read out in court, he first met Altantuya in Hong Kong in 2004, which led to them having an affair. However, in his first Statutory Declaration, PI Bala had sworn that Baginda had been introduced to Altantuya by Najib (who was allegedly having a sexual liaison with Altantuya) at a diamond exhibition in Singapore in 2004. Baginda did not deny this in his post-acquittal speech.

Altansetseg, who had never personally met Baginda, thought her daughter went to Malaysia to look for potential investors in her business. There is also evidence that Baginda was exploiting business opportunities with Altantuya. In 2005, he had sent her three samples of French soap and asked her to look at the possibilities of marketing them in Mongolia. But, Altantuya had confessed to her father in October 2006, before she left for the last time for Malaysia, about the true nature of her relationship with Baginda.

Altansetseg, who was suffering from cancer, and Setev, denied any knowledge of Altantuya converting to Islam, marrying Baginda or having a child by him. But she, as well as Oyunaa, did confirm that Altantuya had a large mole on her upper lip removed surgically.

Setev claimed that when he went through Altantuya’s remaining files and documents, he came across correspondence which proved she had been providing Baginda secretarial and translation services, particularly in relation to the RM7.5 billion Scorpene submarines contract. But, we only have Setev’s word for it. Otherwise, although many have written as though it is a proven fact, and while there is some basis in saying that Altantuya had a good command of Mandarin, any suggestion that she was an expert multi-lingual translator, seem questionable. No one seems to know when and where she could have sharpened such skills (if at all she had them), especially French-English translation for something as complexed as the Scorpene submarines contract, given her short stint in Paris.

If we are to go by various notes she wrote in broken English to Baginda and one note addressed to the Malaysian government, they indicate that her true skills lay elsewhere.

Death warning by Jean Bernard Lesnaud

According to a posting on 29 March 2013 by blogger Gopal Raj Kumar, Altantuya received a telephone call in early October 2006 from Frenchman Jean Bernard Lesnaud who was an arms trafficker based in Miami.¹³ He warned her to keep her mouth shut and head low in Malaysia, two weeks before she was murdered. Lesnaud was thought to have been recruited by the French intelligence services. He was also high on the watch list of the FBI and Interpol. Two of Lesnaud’s agents had been murdered for talking too much.

Altantuya, who Gopal hints must have been recruited by Lesnaud and was due to meet one of his agents, was apparently assigned to seduce Baginda. Once this mission had been successfully completed, she began indiscriminately leaking confidential information and talking loosely in dangerous circles. She may even have been a double agent of sorts. Baginda dropped her like a hot potato in August 2005 when he was tipped off by an insider at the Ministry of Defence in Paris. However, Burma Oyunchimeg @Amy, who Baginda used as the liaison between him and Altantuya, testified in court that the relationship between them did not end in August 2005 as claimed by Baginda, as he had been in frequent contract with her via sms, and Altantuya and Baginda had travelled together in France and Italy after that period.

Lesnaud was apparently worried that Altantuya might jeopardise various lucrative business opportunities being explored by France on a G-to-G basis with Malaysia, and hence the ‘shut-up’ warning call to Altantuya. Gopal alleged that Altantuya had disclosed this information to her sister, PI Bala and a reporter at Malaysiakini.

The only problem is, no one has seen Lesnaud anywhere since he disappeared from his Miami apartment in 2002, despite which his name kept cropping up now and then in lucrative arms deals. Gopal’s astounding information has not been corroborated by anyone.

But there is a crucial question that has remained unanswered all these years, and that is, who informed Altantuya that Baginda and Perimekar had been paid their RM575 million ‘support and co-ordination fee’. How did she get her timing so right that she immediately demanded from Baginda RM1.6 million (US$500,000) as her share of the promised fee? Who was the person monitoring the developments on the Scorpene submarines contract for her? Was there a mole in DCNS and Armaris or was it the people associated with Lesnaud?

¹³ http://takemon.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/the-altantuya-mystery/

Chapter 4   Abdul Razak Bin Abdullah Malim Baginda

Curriculum Vitae

Baginda, the youngest of three siblings, was born on 6 February 1960 to Abdullah Malim Baginda and Rohana Abdullah. He is married to Mazlinda Makhzan, an ex-magistrate. Both mother and daughter also shot to national prominence during the Altantuya murder trial, particular Mazlinda, for her understandably quirky behaviour and outbursts under stress. The couple has a daughter, Rowena.

Interesting name that, with ‘Malim’ and ‘Baginda’ in it. Malim is an old Malay name meaning ‘sea captain’ and is mentioned in the book ‘Marong Mahawangsa’ also known as the ‘Kedah Annals’ which describes events taking place circa 1000-1300 CE. A copy of the Kedah Annals was presented by HRH Sultan of Kedah Ahmad Tajuddin Halim Shah II (1797-1843) to British administrator and amateur historian Lt. Colonel James who translated it from Malay written in Jawi script, to English, in 1849. The Sultan, who was forced to flee to Penang due to an invasion and occupation by Siam (Thailand) between 1821 and 1842, apparently also had the Siamese tile of ‘Chau Pangeran’. The Kedah Annals describe the arrival of a Hindu prince who founds the Kedah Sultanate.

Baginda originates from Sanskrit for ‘the fortunate’ which has found its way into the title of our Sultans and King, which therefore also translates as ‘Majesty’. The full title of our King is ‘Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Di-Pertuan Agong’ which translates loosely from Sanskrit as ‘The Most Precious of (Gold) Dust, His Most Respected and Venerated Supreme Lord and Royal Highness, His Majesty The King’. Paduka here originates from ‘Padhugai’ or footwear, from the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana, where the virtuous King Rama hands over his royal golden sandals to his brother Bharatha. Rama goes off to serve fourteen years exile in the forest, while his reluctant brother is crowned the new king. Bharatha is unwilling to sit on the throne and places Rama’s ‘Padhugai’ on the seat of the throne as a reminder to everyone that he was only a proxy. Bharata or Bharath is an ancient name for India, while ‘Barat’ in Malay means ‘West’, signifying principally tremendous influence from Indian over to the west, in the politics, knowledge, religion, culture, customs, language and vocabulary of Peninsular Malaya, from about 500 BCE to 1500 CE. I digress.

Baginda and Najib alumni of St. John’s Institution

That Abdul Razak Baginda got on so famously with Prime Minister Najib must have had everything to do with the fact that both were Johannians by virtue of having attended St. John’s Institution (SJI) in their formative years in Kuala Lumpur, though seven years apart (Najib was born in 1953). The ‘Old Boy’ networking mentality exists in every country, even though logic tells us that implicit honesty and loyalty cannot be automatically presumed when individuals re-connect only some 20 to 30 years after they have left their alma maters. No one can predict how innocent schoolboys will turn out in adulthood based on their personal and work experiences. But almost anyone can foretell easily how an adult male will usually react when big and easy money, power, fast women and fast cars and an unexpected high-flying lifestyle are thrust upon them by corrupt politicians and government Ministers, as opposed to having to earn a fortune by merit and genuine entrepreneurial endeavour.

SJI, founded in 1904, is one of Malaysia’s leading public schools. In the 1950s and ‘60s, no fundamentalist made any issue about a Malay Muslim attending a missionary school founded and run by La Sallians, and where the school grounds were owned by the Roman Catholic Church. The children of that generations mixed freely during a time of innocence. They had no one stoking the fires of race, religion, colour and creed to keep them apart. Those were truly the golden years of a united Malaysia. They did not have jobless, scurrilous, worthless and unemployable party-hopping politicians and wannabe true representatives of the Malay race from Perkasa and Isma plying and plumbing the depraved depths of the ‘Ketuanan’ or Malay Supremacist and Islamic card, to help UMNO Baru to cling on to power, when for the first time in our history, it lost the popular vote (47% vs. 53%) at the May 2013 General Election.

Baginda completed all his tertiary education in the United Kingdom. There was a brief stint in Croydon, presumably at a public school, to sit for his A-level examination before enrolling for an undergraduate degree course. He obtained his degree in politics and government at the City of London Polytechnic now known as University of Westminster. On returning to Malaysia in 1982, he found a job as a social science tutor at the Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (Agricultural University) which had started off as the School of Agriculture and later, College, at Serdang in 1931. UPM was re-named Universiti Putra Malaysia when its curriculum was expanded to include medicine, science, engineering, etc.

Not long after, he left for London and returned in 1984, armed with a Master’s Degree in War Studies from King’s College. He continued teaching social science at the UPM until 1988 when he was headhunted to join the teaching staff at the Armed Forces Teaching College as the youngest ever lecturer there at age 28. He was eventually promoted to Head of Strategic and International Studies and served the college until 1993, when he resigned and set up his private think-tank, Malaysian Strategic Research Centre (MSRC) at Level 10, Bangunan Getah Asli, 148, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur:

MSRC was set up primarily to advance the understanding of Malaysia's domestic and international activities and its impact and ramifications on the region and the world and vice versa. The primary mission of MSRC is to enhance and promote knowledge in a number of areas, including socio-economics, education, business, politics, and security. As the nation strives to become a developed and industrialized country, its citizenry, too, must be adequately prepared, and knowledge, being a source of power, is one of the keys to success. As such, MSRC seeks to further enrich the quality of knowledge and information on Malaysia and its roles in the international arena.

Najib was appointed Minister of Defence in 1991. It is a fair assumption that Baginda ran into him at some function at the MSRC or the Ministry of Defence. They must have hit it off quickly like a house on fire, as it is likely that MSRC was funded by some grant from the government or possibly, UMNO Baru. With eight support staff, Baginda would have required an annual budget upwards of half a million ringgit to stay afloat. He became a fairly recognisable figure locally when he hosted a chat programme and also one of the World Economic Forum’s (based in Davos, Switzerland) ‘Global Leaders for Tomorrow’ (of which Baginda was a member) panel discussion on national television. Over the years he has written several books and articles on economics, international relations and security, politics and defence.

Baginda’s success in academia continued with a PhD in International Relations from Trinity College, Oxford University, in 2009. This was after he was acquited without his defence being called on the charge of abetment to Altantuya’s murder. He continued at Oxford as Senior Associate Member of St. Antony’s College. Lately, he has moved to London as member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Middle East Institute and Director of the non-profit Islamic Peace Foundation. Rumour has it that he is writing his memoirs about his arrest, the 22-month incarceration in the Sungei Buloh prison and the Altantuya murder trial

Before the Altantuya murder debacle, no one had anything bad or untoward to say about Baginda. He was regarded as an intellectual, a professional’s professional, brilliant writer, good analyst and gifted speaker in the rarefied atmosphere of the elite circles he moved and socialised in. Dr. Michael Yeoh of the Asia Strategy and Leadership Institute described him as an affable man to get along with. Baginda kept a low profile, never really sought the limelight and by all accounts was a model employer and family man who doted on his daughter Rowena.

Not much is known about Abdul Razak Baginda’s achievements at the innocuous and relatively unknown Jalan Kuantan Primary School in Kuala Lumpur. However, according to Christopher Fernandez, his junior by a couple of years at St. John’s:

"He was the Chairman of the Kendo Club at St. John’s in 1978, while the vice-chairman was none other than I. Baginda was a more affable chap back in school those days. He was pleasant, courteous and gregarious. He had many friends as he was a likeable person. There were none in school who could be said to be enemies with him.

Upon leaving St. John’s, we parted ways and he never crossed my mind, until a chance encounter at the MPH Bangsar in Jalan Telawi brought us back into contact. By then he was a familiar personality among Malaysians as a television talk show host.

During that brief encounter, he invited me to be a contributing editor with a publication he was about to start from scratch. The name of the publication was Asian Editor. This was mid-1997 and Baginda had a business office at Wisma Getah Asli in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur which was frequented by me in the process of writing stories for them.

When the official launch of the magazine was held at a leading hotel in the city, it was none other than Najib Tun Razak, who was to officiate at the launching ceremony. Unfortunately, and for certain reasons, Najib did not show up. This was really the old boy network of St. John’s at work as Najib himself is an old boy of St. John’s, but much senior to both of us, Baginda himself being two years my senior.

But the show went on with Baginda apologizing