Najib unfazed by murder accusation, to seek the right to answer

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is unfazed by the publication of a statutory declaration by a convicted killer accusing him of giving orders to kill the Mongolian model Altantuya Shaaribuu in 2006.

In his first reaction to the accusations, which were published in local news portals, Najib said they were a complete fabrication by a desperate person seeking to escape the gallows.

Najib’s lawyer, Mr Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said today that the former PM would file an application to intervene in former police commando Azilah Hadri’s review application to set aside his 2015 conviction of the murder. He added that his client had a “direct interest” in the matter and had to be given the right to answer the allegations.

“You cannot make condemnation (allegations) against someone and the court can’t make a decision against anyone who is condemned in the proceedings without the person being in court to be given the right to answer,” The Star quoted Mr Shafee as saying.

“There are many allegations that were thrown (at Najib) in the affidavit and the review application.

According to local papers, Mr Shafee said they were also seeking to at least be included in the watching brief, while asking why the allegations had resurfaced after 10 years.

Meanwhile, Najib asked why did the information given by Azilah in his statutory declaration not come out earlier. “Why did this information not come out earlier, and only now, more than a decade after her death and only after 19 months PH has been in power?”

“This is a complete fabrication by a desperate person seeking to escape the gallows,” Najib told Free Malaysia Today.

Showing no surprise and no shock, as is his customary response to new information that comes out about his actions as Prime Minister, Najib also wanted the police to reinvestigate the murder case.

Mr Shafee told reporters that Azilah, who is on Death Row in Kajang Prison, was being used by some people in an attempt to put Najib behind bars.

Malaysiakini yesterday published the full version of Azilah’s statutory declaration along with his application to the Federal Court to review his conviction and death sentence.