few may believe TNP lah.So i quote some foreign
medias which CSJ loved vy much.oh it is old news....
But can she speak French?....
Politics
shadows murder trial in Malaysia,By Thomas Fuller,Published: June
1,
2007
---http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/01/asia/malaysia.php
KUALA LUMPUR: Since November, when the charred remains of a
jet-setting young Mongolian were discovered in a patch of jungle
outside this modern capital, her mysterious murder has captivated
the political elite here, not least because prosecutors say she was
killed by commandos assigned to the second most powerful man in the
country, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak.
With the trial set to begin Monday, Malaysians hope a basic but
still elusive question will be answered: who was behind the murder
in October of Altantuya Shaariibuu, 28, and why?
The trial is perhaps the most high-profile case in Malaysia since
Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime minister, was charged with
sodomy and corruption almost a decade ago, and was beaten by the
chief of police while in detention.
Like the Anwar trial, the inquiry into Shaariibuu's murder has
raised questions about the transparency and thoroughness of this
country's judicial system and about the practices of the Malaysian
police. One of the bodyguards charged with murdering Shaariibuu
bragged that he had killed "between 6 and 10 people," according to
an affidavit submitted in a pre-trial hearing.
Three men have been charged in the case: the two bodyguards and
Abdul Razak Baginda, an adviser to the deputy prime minister, who
is accused of aiding and abetting the killing of Shaariibuu, who he
says was his mistress. They face death by hanging if
convicted.
Shaariibuu was a part-time model who spoke English, Russian
and Mandarin, according to local media reports. She was
shot and her body destroyed with explosives, the police say.
Malaysians have speculated for months as to whether her murder was
the result of a lover's quarrel or part of a more sinister and
far-reaching cover-up involving high-level government
officials.
"We are interested to know whether there is any political link to
the murder," said Zulkifli Noordin, a lawyer representing Chief
Inspector Azilah Hadri, one of the bodyguards. "Why were all the
people involved linked to No. 2?" he asked, referring to
Najib.
Zulkifli said he would explore Shaariibuu's role in the
purchase of French submarines by Malaysia in 2002.
"She may have been involved as the interpreter in the arms deal
between the French company and the Defense Ministry," Zulkifli
said. "We want to see whether there are any links."
Zulkifli also plans to call Najib to the stand to inquire about
meetings the deputy prime minister held with his client, he
said.
One defense lawyer is skeptical that the court will explore
possible motives for the murder.
"Motive is a very interesting question," said Kamarul Hisham
Kamaruddin, a lawyer representing the other bodyguard charged,
Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar. "But it is irrelevant here if they have
physical evidence that three people have done it."
Prosecutors, Kamarul predicts, will focus narrowly on the actual
killing. Under Malaysian law, which resembles British or American
legal tradition on this point, prosecutors need not show motive to
get a conviction.
"It may be a trial where everything is said and done but nothing is
answered," Kamarul said.
Outside the courtroom, some analysts here see the case as a proxy
battle for Malaysia's top political job, currently held by Prime
Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. It is likely to stoke a
long-standing rivalry between Najib, who as deputy prime minister
is the heir apparent to the job of prime minister, and Anwar, the
former deputy prime minister who was released from prison in 2004
and is seeking to make a political comeback.
More than anyone in Malaysia, Anwar has publicly urged a broader
investigation into the purchase of the French submarines,
allegations of kickbacks in that deal and the role that Shaariibuu
may have played.
"The issue is who gave the instructions?" Anwar said in an
interview this year. "If the instructions to the commandos were to
finish off this girl and any traces because she was a threat to
national security, what then is the status of the murder?"
Anwar says he is skeptical that the police can conduct a fair
investigation into a killing that involves Najib's bodyguards. He
called for an independent inquiry.
"There's a political damage exercise here," said Sankara Nair, a
Malaysian lawyer not involved with the trial. "Anwar is throwing a
small political bomb into Najib's camp."
Anwar's most forceful allegation is that the deputy prime
minister's bodyguards, some of whom are members of a special
commando force, only act on orders from the top.
"Their duty is like the Secret Service - to protect," Anwar said.
"That's why questions must be raised."...
2.Murder
trial linked to fight to rule Malaysia,
· Case begins after model shot dead and blown up
· Deputy prime minister connected to accused
Ian MacKinnon, south-east Asia correspondent
Monday June 18, 2007,The Guardian
--http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2105314,00.html
...Malaysia's prime minister, Abdullah Badawi, has pledged no
cover-up. Mr Anwar has questioned the French sale of submarines to
Malaysia in 2002, urging a probe into the 530m ringgit (£78m)
commission paid to a company said to be linked to Mr Abdul Razak.
Shaariibuu may have acted as a translator in the negotiations.
