Saturday, December 12, 2009

I have nothing to say either... (burp)

Not everybody is subscribed to Malaysiakini. This hot story happens to be an exclusive, and I feel it should be accessible to as wide an audience as possible. So I'm cloning it here with sincere apologies, congratulations, and gratitude to Malaysiakini for blazing new trails in investigative reporting.

Bala's inconvenient and unexpected reappearance (at least on YouTube) puts Najib and Rosmah is a very tight spot. No matter how they respond - or don't - too many incriminating details have emerged from Bala's videotaped interview with three veteran lawyers to brush away with practised nonchalance.

Najib's arrogant and peremptory dismissal of a reporter's request that he comment on Bala's latest allegations reveals a man confronted with a gigantic NO EXIT sign. Najib can no longer stonewall his way out of the nightmarish mess he has made of his alleged non-involvement with Altantuya Shaariibuu - and her macabre murder between 19 and 20 October 2006. His younger brother Nazim has been publicly accused of criminal intimidation, a jailable offence; and the hidden hands behind Bala's abrupt disappearance have also been exposed. If Bala is lying he must be brought to book for defamation and libel. If he's telling the truth, then Najib Razak and Rosmah Mansor should relocate from Putrajaya to Sungai Buloh prison, along with quite
a few others involved in the massive cover-up...

Nazim Razak: I've nothing to say

Hafiz Yatim & Salhan K Ahmad
Dec 11, 2009
6:59pm


After a series of unsuccessful attempts to get in touch with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's brother over the allegations raised by private investigator P Balasubramaniam, Malaysiakini had a little dose of luck this afternoon.

Our journalists bumped into Nazim (in white shirt) at Masjid Negara in Kuala Lumpur, where he had gone to attend the Friday prayers.

The architect was visiting the grave of his father, second prime minister Abdul Razak, when approached.

Just like his elder brother who dismissed the serious allegations with two words - 'frivolous statements' - a startled-looking Nazim also offered a curt response.

When asked to comment on Balasubramaniam's allegation that he had met the second youngest of the five Razak brothers at a shopping mall in Petaling Jaya, Nazim replied with a stern "I have nothing to say" before walking away.

Malaysiakini had two weeks ago sent a list of questions to Nazim's office but did not receive any response. Repeated attempts to call him and visit his office also proved futile.

'Threatened and offered RM5 million'

In video interviews that surfaced last month, the private investigator, who has since fled the country with his family, also claimed that Nazim had threatened him and then offered him RM5 million to retract his statutory declaration pertaining to slain Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.

According to Balasubramaniam, the duo met on the night before the private investigator inked his second statutory declaration which cleared Najib of having close ties with the murdered woman.

He also claimed that carpet merchant Deepak Jaikishan and Nazim's wife, a former television personality, were present during the brief meeting at The Curve in Mutiara Damansara.

In his first statutory declaration unveiled less than 24 hours earlier during a press conference with Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, Balasubramaniam sent shockwaves through the nation when he claimed that Najib had sexual liaisons with the deceased former model.

Najib has repeatedly stressed that he has no connections with Altantuya or her death.

On the carpet merchant's trail

Yesterday, Malaysiakini went on a mission to track down the elusive Deepak, who is described as a dashing lad and said to be close to Rosmah.

During a visit to his office in Jalan Chan Sow Lin 6 in Sungai Besi, an employee who identified herself as 'Miss Wong' said that her boss was not in and told the journalist to leave.

The latter was then escorted out of the building.

Following this, Malaysiakini went to Deepak's carpet shop along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and managed to meet the businessman's mother, who introduced herself as 'Mrs Jai.'

After explaining to 'Mrs Jai' the reason behind the visit, the woman proceeded to make several telephone calls.

In a guarded tone, she then told Malaysiakini that both her sons Deepak and Dinesh - who was also implicated by Balasubramaniam - were not in the country.

She also refused to divulge her sons' mobile phone numbers.

Apart from this, 'Mrs Jai' said she also does not know if Deepak or Dinesh share close ties with Rosmah.

"I have never met her," she said when asked if the prime minister's wife had visited their shop.