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PETALING JAYA: Najib Razak should now file a defamation lawsuit against Azilah Hadri who had claimed that the former prime minister ordered the murder of Mongolian citizen Altantuya Shaariibuu, a civil lawyer said.
Americk Sidhu said the lawsuit would help clear Najib’s name, as the former policeman’s legal statement (SD) had tainted him.
“Najib should file the lawsuit not with the intention of obtaining damages but to redeem his reputation in the eyes of the public,” he told FMT.
Americk said that in the past the former prime minister had been limited to doing something about Azilah’s claim, as the Altantuya and Azilah matters were still pending in court. Yesterday, Azilah exhausted all his legal avenues when the Federal Court dismissed his request for review of his murder conviction and death sentence.
Last December, Najib took a “sumpah laknat” at Masjid Jamek in Kampung Baru to deny the accusations made by Azilah in the SD which was attached to the review appeal.
After Friday prayers, Najib told a congregation of around 500 people that “I have never ordered anyone to kill a Mongolian citizen named Altantuya Shaariibuu and I have never met or known the deceased.”
He had also taken a similar oath 11 years ago at a mosque in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, denying claims that he knew Altantuya.
The Federal Court yesterday rejected Azilah’s request for a review to overturn his 2015 conviction and order a new trial. The five-member court, chaired by Malaya’s chief judge Azahar Mohamed, said there was no judicial error or violation of any written law to allow for review.
“In our view, there are no exceptional circumstances that would allow a review under Rule 137 of the 1995 Federal Court Rules,” Azahar said.
In his SD, Azilah claimed, among others, that Altantuya’s former lover, Abdul Razak Baginda, and senior police officer Musa Safri were aware of Najib’s “instructions”.
Azilah, in her attached affidavit, said it was Najib who had ordered the “shoot to kill” order in Altantuya.
Azilah and his partner, Sirul Azhar Umar, were sentenced to death nine years after Altantuya was killed in a forest near Shah Alam and her body blown up with explosives in 2006. Razak was acquitted of complicity in the murder case.
Meanwhile, lawyer Syed Iskandar Syed Jaafar Al Mahdzar said that the police should investigate the content of the SD and take appropriate action against Najib or Azilah.
“The court ruling did not touch the veracity of the SD. The court simply said that Azilah suppressed the evidence and, as such, it was not an appropriate case for review, “he said.
Syed Iskandar said Azilah knew well that he would be under threat of criminal prosecution if the SD was unfounded and unjust.
“You could be charged under the SD Law or the Penal Code for stating under oath something that is not true,” said the lawyer. Similarly, he said, Najib could also be charged if Azilah’s allegations are found to be true.
