A chance for M'sia to clear its name, says Altantuya's father on Azilah's revelation

PETALING JAYA: The father of Altantuya Shaariibuu has urged for an urgent fresh investigation into his daughter's murder, following former police commando Azilah Hadri's statutory declaration (SD) that Datuk Seri Najib Razak ordered him to kill the Mongolian model.

Setev Shaariibuu (pic) said that the latest revelation is an opportunity for Malaysia to clear its name.

Azilah, a former chief inspector from the elite Special Actions Unit (UTK) claimed that in 2006, Najib, who was then deputy prime minister and defence minister, had ordered him to “shoot to kill” Altantuya as she was a “dangerous foreign spy”.

Azilah said this in a shocking allegation filed in an SD along with his application seeking the Federal Court to review its decision on his conviction and the death sentence imposed on him and Sirul Azhar Umar, a former corporal and police commando, in 2001.

The 17-page long SD in Bahasa Malaysia was filed by Azilah’s lawyer, J. Kuldeep Kumar on Oct 17, as part of his application seeking the Federal Court review. The court has fixed Tuesday (Dec 17) for case management.

"It is an opportunity for the Malaysian authorities to clear the name of Malaysia at the international level if they can follow up shortly this circumstance," Setev said in an emailed statement through his lawyer Munkhsaruul Mijiddorj.

Mijiddorj said that Setev is in hospital and would issue a more detailed statement in the next few days.

Najib, however, labelled Azilah's allegations as a "complete fabrication".

In a Facebook post on Monday (Dec 16), he questioned why new details of the case had only now emerged.

“Suddenly, there are details of (Altantuya being) a Russian spy and accusations that I ordered her murder because she was a spy.

“Even (Azilah’s) defence lawyer was surprised by the statutory declaration made by his client, ” Najib said, referring to lawyer Hazman Ahmad, who has denied any role in the statutory declaration.

He added that the allegation was a just new conspiracy to "oppose and accuse" him.