Ramkarpal (left) and Sirul.
PETALING JAYA: The request for a pardon by convicted killer Sirul Azhar Umar is an insult to the memory of Altantuya Shaariibuu, said Ramkarpal Singh.
The DAP lawmaker was referring to Sirul's reported offer to come clean with details about the "heinous" murder of the Mongolian model that was committed more than a decade ago.
In a report by news portal FreeMalaysiaToday, the Bukit Gelugor MP said the court should commute Sirul's death sentence to life imprisonment.
This is so that authorities in Australia have no reason to not deport Sirul upon a request for extradition.
"There is absolutely no hint of remorse from Sirul in his said interview particularly when the murder was committed in such a heinous manner," said Ramkarpal, referring to an interview published by news portal Malaysiakini.
Altantuya, 28, is believed to have been shot dead before her body was blown to bits with explosives at a secondary forest near the Subang Dam in Puncak Alam, Shah Alam in 2006.
In 2009, Sirul and accomplice Azilah Hadri were convicted of murdering Altantuya and were sentenced to death.
The Court of Appeal overturned their sentences in 2013 but upon the prosecution's appeal, they were upheld by the Federal Court.
Sirul fled to Australia where he was detained by the Australian Immigration after Interpol issued a red notice on him.
He has been at the detention centre since 2015, where he is hoping to get asylum.
According to Ramkarpal, the only reason Australia would not extradite Sirul was because he would be on death row here.
"If the said death penalty is commuted to life imprisonment, the Australian government will most certainly deport him to Malaysia to serve his sentence here.
"Once he is back on home soil, he will be compelled to cooperate in the said investigations or RCI and if necessary, appear as a witness against those who ordered Altantuya's murder," he said.
According to the report, he added that it was unlikely that Sirul had any personal knowledge of what transpired on the night of the murder or who ordered it, saying it was clear from the trial evidence that Azilah had played a bigger role.
"Furthermore, the possibility that one DSP Musa Safri may have knowledge of what happened cannot be excluded as he was mentioned throughout the trial but was curiously not called by the prosecution."
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