RPK's allegations - more questions raise.........

RPK's allegations raise even more questions- Kim Quek

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s outright denial of Raja Petra Kamarudin’s explosive revelation linking Najib Razak and his wife to the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder appears to signal another concerted effort to shield his deputy from due legal process.

Renowned blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK) lodged a statutory declaration on June 18 declaring that he had been reliably informed that

* Najib’s wife Rosmah Mansor was among three other persons who were present at the murder scene. The other two are acting colonel Aziz Buyong (then Lt Col, a C4 explosive expert - who placed the C4 on various parts of Altantuya’s body - and Aziz’s wife Norhayati (who is Rosmah’s bodyguard).

* PM Abdullah had received a written military intelligence report giving these details and he had handed over this report to his son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin, for safe keeping.

* One of the rulers, whom RPK knows, had been briefed of this matter.

This RPK affidavit is an instant bombshell that has once again riveted unwelcome attention on Najib who has so far remained untouched by the police or the court despite numerous accusations of his involvement.

These accusations spring from the fact that all the three accused are closely linked to him - the first two (for the killing) being his bodyguards and the third (for abetting) being his confidante. Suspicions of involvement beyond the three accused were further fueled by the fact that the first two accused had no apparent motive for the killing while the third had neither personal knowledge nor authority over the first two.

RPK is no ordinary blogger. He enjoys very high standing among Malaysians, both for his heroic and righteous activism and for his many insightful revelations of political maneuvers and scandals among those in the corridors of power. Doubtless, none would fancy a solid personage like RPK would stick his neck out in such reckless fashion unless he is supremely confident of what he has been buttressed with.

And this is verified by the fact that one week after the bombshell that must have shaken the top hierarchy of the ruling coalition, none has approached RPK despite repeated sabre-rattling by the various law enforcers warning of serious consequences to RPK.

True to the government’s tradition of hounding the whistleblower instead of the culprit, the attorney-general promptly lodged a report on June 18 to the police, which has begun investigating RPK under Section 203 of the Penal Code for spreading false information, which is punishable with two years of imprisonment.

While ostentatiously promising full investigation of the persons named in the affidavit as well as RPK, the AG warned in the same breath that such allegations could be “highly-defamatory” and the police also insinuated that the affidavit could be “subjudice”. The law enforcers’ intent not to accord just treatment to RPK’s revelation could hardly be concealed.

Unanswered questions

And now, before even RPK was interviewed by the police, PM Abdullah declared that Najib and his wife are innocent.

Isn’t the prime minister pre-empting and prejudicing a crucial investigation over an important new lead from a creditable source on a high-profile judicial case which has already been much criticised for its numerous and serious irregularities?

By his premature declaration of innocence, isn’t the prime minister reinforcing skepticism widely held at home and abroad that justice has not been served, thus subjecting the country to increasing risk of international ridicule and conflict?

How does the prime minister know that RPK’s allegation against Rosmah is untrue without the source of information being looked at (meaning querying RPK)?

If the allegation is false, shouldn’t Najib and Rosmah have been duty bound to the nation to make the denial in the first instant?

Why have the police been pushing off its interview of RPK for so long? Shouldn’t the AG and the police have jumped at the first opportunity to find out from RPK what precious information he has, if the former are really dedicated to seek truth and serve justice? Or are the police busy preparing the groundwork to gain maximum vantage before it confronts RPK?

The pattern of conduct displayed by the prime minister down to the AG and the inspector general of police in response to the challenge posed by the RPK affidavit is consistent with one to forsake truth and justice in favour of political expediency, even when the latter is immoral.

Since the political tsunami ushered in by the landmark March 8 election, the prime minister has made a big demonstration of his resolve to bring judicial reforms, but a little incident like the RPK affidavit has just indicated to us that when the polity is already corrupted to the core such as what we have now, it is wishful thinking that any meaningful reform is possible – not to mention judicial reforms.

cheers.