Ramesh Rao: Australian journalists were 'trespassers'

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Ramesh Rao is claiming that Australian journalists were "trespassing" when they attended a press conference at the Pertubuhan Minda dan Social Prihatin Malaysia (Minda) office on Saturday, held by the wife of late private investigator P. Balasubramaniam.

Ramesh, the Minda president, said in a statement on Sunday that members from an Australian news agency had attended the press conference without permission and had behaved rudely.

He claimed that their presence was due to an Opposition attempt to sabotage the press conference via provocation that was irrelevant to the apology read by Balasubramaniam's widow A. Santamil Selvi.

"He (the journalist) put Selvi in a stressful situation which later (caused her to) behave emotionally, become angry, and leave the press conference," he said.

He said that although Santamil had answered the question asked by the journalist, he repeated it until the situation became chaotic.

Ramesh also asked why the foreign media had not questioned the behaviour of the Opposition, which he said did not fulfil its promise to take care of the welfare of Santamil and her children, especially relating to their education.

He stressed that Santamil was merely seeking financial assistance for her children.

During the press conference, Santamil had read out an apology to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his family over allegations she had made over the death of her husband.

Balasubramaniam, who passed away in 2013 soon after returning from exile in India, had made two statutory declarations over Najib's alleged involvement in the murder of Mongolian interpreter Altantunya Shaariibuu. The second statutory declaration was made to retract the first one.

In 2013, Santamil and her three children filed a suit against the Prime Minister for their exile from 2008 until 2013.

The suit also named Najib's brothers, Datuk Ahmad Johari Abdul Razak and Datuk Mohd Nazim Abdul Razak, senior lawyer Tan Sri Cecil Abraham and his son Sunil Abraham, as well as commissioner of oaths Zainal Abidin Muhayat and lawyer M. Arunapalam as respondents.