It looks like Prime Minister Najib Razak, at the centre of the Scorpene-Altantuya corruption and murder scandals, is hitting the panic buttons.
Officers from the Companies Commission of Malaysia tried to raid the office of human rights group SUARAM on Tuesday afternoon but had to abort their plan after discovering their warrant had not been signed.
The failed raid follows days of haranguing in the Umno-controlled newspapers urging the government to investigate why the human rights group was registered as a company, and yet styled itself as an NGO or non-governmental organisation.
Umno-linked groups also demanded that the authorities inspected SUARAM’s sources of funding and what happened to the nearly one million ringgit it posted as earnings since 2009.
“It is to distract members of the public and divert attention from the ongoing probe into corruption involved in the Scorpene deal,” SUARAM director Cynthia Gabriel said.
She had tweeted when 4 CCM officers turned up to question SUARAM staff as well as to inspect its books and raid its premises.
RoC officers just entered SUARAM premises w a warrant to do a search!@cynthia_gabriel
RoC officers warrant invalid, not signed by the Registrar, so they had to cut their visit short. Suaram staff know their stuff! Bravo!@cynthia_gabriel
But incredibly incompetent as the CCM staff may have seemed, it won’t stop them from returning on Wednesday.
“They will come back tomorrow,” said Cynthia.
Nervous over the revelations in France
Many suspect that he might trying to seize documents to find out about the latest status of the ongoing trial on the Scorpenes corruption case in France.
“It is very likely that Najib might want to know what SUARAM knows. Hence the raid on the pretence of checking its books but I believe that at this stage, Najib and Umno would do anything to cover their tracks. They might want to exactly how much dirt the French police have dug up on them,” PKR MP for Batu Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.
Najib, as the defense minister sanctioning the Malaysian government’s purchase of 2 Scorpene submarines in 2002, has been accused of taking at least 114 million euros as an illegal kickback via his proxy Razak Baginda.
Documents seized from DCNS, the vendor of the submarines, by the French police also show UMNO’s involvement in the money trail for the payment of the illegal commission.
Frenzy to de-link Altantuya from Scorpenes – why?
In particular, they tried to segregate the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu from the Scorpenes deal by denying she had ever been to France or had met any DCNS officials.
However, documents seized by the French police show clearly that Altantuya could have entered France under the name of “SHAARIYBUU Bayasgalan born on 26 February 1979 in Mongolia was issued a temporary residency card on the French territory valid from 27 August 2004 to 26 November 2004″.
Another document that records an interview between the French police and former DCNS Financial Director Gérard-Philippe Menayas also specifically mentioned Altantuya by name and stated her position as Baginda’s interpreter.
Altantuya was murdered in Malaysia in 2006 by two of Najib’s former bodyguards who have since been sentenced to hang. Both are appealing the sentence and there is huge speculation that the ‘master-mind’ behind the murder is still at large as neither men had any motive to kill her and one of them actually said that he had been paid RM100,000 to kill her but his statement was ignored by the Malaysian judge
Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor have denied involvement in the murder case, while Baginda was charged for abetting the two cops in the murder. Baginda was controversially acquitted later on.
The acceptance of Altantuya as a figure no matter how insignificant in the Scorpenes case will place enormous pressure on Najib. It will confirm the allegations that the Malaysian trial judge had refused to acknowledge and instead kept suppressed – that Altantuya was killed because of her connection to Najib’s Scorpenes scandal.
High stakes for Najib and Umno
Najib has also denied receiving any kickbacks from the Scorpenes purchase. However, until now his administration has refused to initiate a public inquiry into the matter. It was this denial of transparency that spurred SUARAM to file a complain in Paris against DCNS in 2010.
If DCNS is found guilty of having bribed Malaysian officials to buy their submarines, they may have to compensate the Malaysian people for the pricing inflated by the kickback. The revelation of the Malaysian officials involved would also expose those guilty and if Najib was one of them, this would spell the end of his career.
For Umno, the stakes are just as high.
The evidence raised by the French police and submitted to the Parisian court, which started hearing the case this April, shows the party had a hand in receiving a part of the alleged commission. And
Why did Judge Mohd Zaki dismissed to call Najib and Balasubramaniam despite his written declaration, which implicated Najib as a witness in the trial.
Tun CJ, it is the other way round. Please restore the Judiciary’s Integrity and Independence, and you will earn our respect. You are given this opportunity to remove the stigma of a compromised judiciary after the removal of Lord President Tun Salleh Abas in 1988 by an all powerful Prime Minister. So, seize the moment and make a difference. –Din Merican
Everyone can give their opinion on the country’s Judiciary or any judicial decision but not to the extent of insulting the institution.
Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria(picture) said in other countries such as England, for example, the people were free to give their opinion because, indirectly, this could bring an improvement to the judicial system.
“It is good to give such opinions and this can assist us to develop our law. You can also write but not to the extent of committing contempt of court, for example.
“We are open and such criticism is normal, and we often hear that there are court decisions that are illogical and so on. Show proof if the judges’ decisions are unfair, biased or if there are elements of bribery involved. Prove it… don’t just talk,” he told reporters after opening the 46th Conference of the Malaysian Judges Council here today.
Also present were Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Raus Sharif, Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin and Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum.
Arifin said as judges they could not defend themselves against such allegations and this was not fair to the judges.He said the instruction that judges should not forge close relations with politicians and businessmen was to avoid negative perception of the Judiciary.
“Some of the politicians and businessmen are involved in court cases. This instruction aims to prevent such things (biasness),” he said.
Commenting on the statement by former Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi that the Prime Minister and members of the Cabinet had never given any instruction to the judiciary, Arifin said the statement was true.
On the conference attended by 120 judges throughout the country, the Chief Justice said the objective was to enable the judges to exchange views aimed at improving the Judiciary further
Everyone can give their opinion on the country’s Judiciary or any judicial decision but not to the extent of insulting the institution.
Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria(picture) said in other countries such as England, for example, the people were free to give their opinion because, indirectly, this could bring an improvement to the judicial system.
“It is good to give such opinions and this can assist us to develop our law. You can also write but not to the extent of committing contempt of court, for example.
“We are open and such criticism is normal, and we often hear that there are court decisions that are illogical and so on. Show proof if the judges’ decisions are unfair, biased or if there are elements of bribery involved. Prove it… don’t just talk,” he told reporters after opening the 46th Conference of the Malaysian Judges Council here today.
Also present were Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Raus Sharif, Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin and Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum.
Arifin said as judges they could not defend themselves against such allegations and this was not fair to the judges.He said the instruction that judges should not forge close relations with politicians and businessmen was to avoid negative perception of the Judiciary.
“Some of the politicians and businessmen are involved in court cases. This instruction aims to prevent such things (biasness),” he said.
Commenting on the statement by former Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi that the Prime Minister and members of the Cabinet had never given any instruction to the judiciary, Arifin said the statement was true.
On the conference attended by 120 judges throughout the country, the Chief Justice said the objective was to enable the judges to exchange views aimed at improving the Judiciary further
Tun CJ, it is the other way round. Please restore the Judiciary’s Integrity and Independence, and you will earn our respect. You are given this opportunity to remove the stigma of a compromised judiciary after the removal of Lord President Tun Salleh Abas in 1988 by an all powerful Prime Minister. So, seize the moment and make a difference. –Din Merican
Everyone can give their opinion on the country’s Judiciary or any judicial decision but not to the extent of insulting the institution.
Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria(picture) said in other countries such as England, for example, the people were free to give their opinion because, indirectly, this could bring an improvement to the judicial system.
“It is good to give such opinions and this can assist us to develop our law. You can also write but not to the extent of committing contempt of court, for example.
“We are open and such criticism is normal, and we often hear that there are court decisions that are illogical and so on. Show proof if the judges’ decisions are unfair, biased or if there are elements of bribery involved. Prove it… don’t just talk,” he told reporters after opening the 46th Conference of the Malaysian Judges Council here today.
Also present were Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Raus Sharif, Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin and Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum.
Arifin said as judges they could not defend themselves against such allegations and this was not fair to the judges.He said the instruction that judges should not forge close relations with politicians and businessmen was to avoid negative perception of the Judiciary.
“Some of the politicians and businessmen are involved in court cases. This instruction aims to prevent such things (biasness),” he said.
Commenting on the statement by former Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi that the Prime Minister and members of the Cabinet had never given any instruction to the judiciary, Arifin said the statement was true.
On the conference attended by 120 judges throughout the country, the Chief Justice said the objective was to enable the judges to exchange views aimed at improving the Judiciary furtherSaid Datuk Seri Najib Razak.a technicalmatter did not involve the judiciary like my SMS Shafee Abdullah,Judge Zaki dismiss Najib as a witness
Everyone can give their opinion on the country’s Judiciary or any judicial decision but not to the extent of insulting the institution.
Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria(picture) said in other countries such as England, for example, the people were free to give their opinion because, indirectly, this could bring an improvement to the judicial system.
“It is good to give such opinions and this can assist us to develop our law. You can also write but not to the extent of committing contempt of court, for example.
“We are open and such criticism is normal, and we often hear that there are court decisions that are illogical and so on. Show proof if the judges’ decisions are unfair, biased or if there are elements of bribery involved. Prove it… don’t just talk,” he told reporters after opening the 46th Conference of the Malaysian Judges Council here today.
Also present were Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Raus Sharif, Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin and Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum.
Arifin said as judges they could not defend themselves against such allegations and this was not fair to the judges.He said the instruction that judges should not forge close relations with politicians and businessmen was to avoid negative perception of the Judiciary.
“Some of the politicians and businessmen are involved in court cases. This instruction aims to prevent such things (biasness),” he said.
Commenting on the statement by former Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi that the Prime Minister and members of the Cabinet had never given any instruction to the judiciary, Arifin said the statement was true.
On the conference attended by 120 judges throughout the country, the Chief Justice said the objective was to enable the judges to exchange views aimed at improving the Judiciary furtherSaid Datuk Seri Najib Razak.a technicalmatter did not involve the judiciary like my SMS Shafee Abdullah,Judge Zaki dismiss Najib as a witness
According to evidence introduced at the trial and other sources, Abdul Razak contacted Najib’s chief of staff, Musa Safri, to ask Najib’s bodyguards, Azilah and Sirul, to “do something” about Altantuya. Musa was not required to appear as a witness. Deputy Commander Mastor Mohd Ariff, an associate of the two bodyguards, said members of the unit were required to follow all orders of their superiors without question, describing the unit’s members as “like robots” who would only take orders from their superiors. Abdul Razak, a civilian and friend of Najib’s, was not a superior officer.According to an affidavit filed by Abdul Razak, Azilah contacted Abdul Razak after Altantuya’s disappearance to say that “tonight encik (sir), you can sleep well.”
Testimony by the murdered woman’s cousin indicated that immigration records of Altantuya and the two Mongolian companions who had come toMalaysia with her to confront Abdul Razak disappeared from the government’s immigration files. She also responded to a question that she had seen a picture of Altantuya having dinner with Najib before she was hurriedly hushed up by both prosecution and defense lawyers.
Testimony by the murdered woman’s cousin indicated that immigration records of Altantuya and the two Mongolian companions who had come toMalaysia with her to confront Abdul Razak disappeared from the government’s immigration files. She also responded to a question that she had seen a picture of Altantuya having dinner with Najib before she was hurriedly hushed up by both prosecution and defense lawyers.
Nonetheless, Judge Mohd Zaki dismissed a bid in July to call Najib as a witness in the trial. Zaki also refused to call Balasubramaniam despite his written declaration, which implicated Najib in the events leading up to the murder. In addition to other lurid details, Balasubramaniam described text messages between Najib and Abdul Razak in which the latter was asking for help to avoid arrest.
Later, a series of text messages was made public indicating that Najib had been involved in finding a lawyer, Shafee Abdullah, to represent Abdul Razak. One message from Shafee to Najib said: “We provided (the police) everything, including old PDAs and notebooks and a couple of bills. Nothing incriminating.” Malaysia Today said the exchange raises questions if anything “incriminating” was kept from the police.
Besides allegations that Altantuya was the lover of both men, the case has raised additional concerns of corruption at the top of the United Malays National Organisation, the leading political party in the national ruling coalition. The Mongolian woman appears to have been the translator on a controversial transaction in which Malaysia, with Najib as defense minister, paid €1 billion for French submarines, netting a company tied to Abdul Razak US$111 million in “commissions.”readmore http://thetwilightjudicialreview.blogspot.com/2012/07/why-did-judge-mohd-zaki-dismissed-to.html
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