Dereliction of duty if IGP doesn’t want to find out why cops killed Altantuya, says Kit Siang

Although the courts did not establish the motive for the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu nine years ago, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar has a duty to find out why two former police personnel killed her, DAP said today.

DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang said the least a “responsible and conscientious” inspector-general of police should do after the completion of the murder trial would be to launch a thorough inquiry to ascertain why Sirul Azhar Umar (pic, right) and former Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri murdered Altantuya in 2006.

"It is a gross dereliction of duty on the part of the IGP that he is not interested in finding out why two members of the elite police force murdered in cold blood a defenceless Mongolian woman, using C4 explosives, when both did not know her and had no logical motive or reasonable cause for committing the murder," Lim said in a statement.

The Gelang Patah MP said that in Sirul’s confession to the police in the form of a caution statement, the elite policeman told the interrogating officer that he was offered RM50,000 to RM100,000 to kill Altantuya.

“Is Khalid prepared to have a full inquiry as to how members of the elite police force could be bought to break the law and to commit a cold-blooded murder just for money, and who offered Sirul this money?” asked Lim.

“Is Khalid prepared to defend his police personnel to ascertain whether Sirul and Azilah had gone on a frolic of their own to kill Altantuya with C4 explosives, or whether they were told to do so by very powerful individuals?”

Lim also asked whether Khalid agreed with the Mongolian woman's former lover Abdul Razak Baginda who said that her death was a “straightforward murder” case.

Razak (pic, right), who was acquitted of abetting in the murder of Altantuya without his defence being called, told The Malaysian Insider in a recent interview that "rogue police do kill people, like in so many remand cases".

Lim questioned the involvement of Deputy Superintendent Musa Safri, the prime minister’s former aide-de-camp if it had indeed been “a straightforward murder”.

“Why were records of Altantuya’s going in and out of Malaysia expunged?

"Was Altantuya in any way involved with the multi-billion ringgit Scorpene submarine scandal?" he asked, referring to previous allegations that the murdered woman was Razak's interpreter in the RM4.2 billion submarine acquisition deal.

Lim said the “court of opinion” in Malaysia, Mongolia and elsewhere in the word had expected more, and it was clear that justice had not been served to Altantuya (pic, left) and her family.

He said there was also injustice to Sirul, Azilah and their families when the motive of the murder was not probed and revealed.

Lim called for a bipartisan parliamentary committee to be set up to inquire into unresolved public interest questions on Altantuya’s murder.

The setting up of the committee would be one follow-up action that could be taken when Parliament reconvenes on March 9 to find answers to the Altantuya questions haunting the nation, he said.

He said the committee should be chaired by an opposition MP although he did not see any major objections should a Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmaker be prepared to sit as chairman.

"If the BN government is unprepared to establish such a committee, then alternatives will have to be explored.

"For instance, a hybrid of a parliamentary civil society committee made up of MPs from both BN and PR, who are prepared to serve, as well as civil society participation."

His suggestion followed recent developments in the case, from Sirul’s refusal to return to Malaysia from Australia to face the gallows to the “rogue policemen” remark by Razak.

Lim said nobody was surprised by Sirul's refusal to come home, as he was "clearly nursing a great sense of grievance and injustice" for committing a deed which he "must have believed at the time was the highest act of loyalty in the interest of the state".

"Now he is condemned as a 'rogue policeman' and has to face the gallows without any protection from his patrons for his act of loyalty." – January 31, 2015.