Govt's Refusal To Follow Up On Bala's Altantuya Declarations A Cover-Up ?

Written by  Maclean Patrick

The de-facto Law Minister Nazri Aziz, in a written reply to Parliament, has stated that there was ‘no case’ in the investigations into the authenticity of P Balasubramaniam's two statutory declarations in regards to the Altantuya murder.

Thus, the Attorney-General has decided not to investigate further, effectively closing the case into the private investigator's declarations.

Nazri also mentioned that the AG decided not to pursue the case as the two conflicting SDs would have "no effect" on the Altantuya Shaaribuu murder trial.

This has further dumb-founded lawmakers as the basis for dropping the case does seem flimsy and illogical.

Nazri's rationale

For Bala to be charged, it must be proven that the contents of his SD are not only false but also legally admissible as testimony in a court of law, Nazri added.

"However, the statutory declarations made by P Balasubramaniam were not intended to be used as testimony in any proceedings," he said.

Nazri also quoted and made references to Section 199 of the Penal Code.

Section 199 of the Penal Code reads:

“Whoever, in any declaration made or subscribed by him, which declaration any court, or any public servant or other person, is bound or authorised by law to receive as evidence of any fact, makes any statement which is false, and which he either knows or believes to be false or does not believe to be true, touching any point material to the object for which the declaration is made or used, shall be punished in the same manner as if he gave false evidence.”

Nazri and the government’s statements are baffling. Bala’s statutory declarations were clearly made in the context of the Altantuya murder trial. So how can there be no effect?

Bala was the private investigator employed by Razak Baginda to protect him and his family from Altantuya, who at the time of employment was in Kuala Lumpur to demand her commission for assisting Razak Baginda in the purchase of the Scorpene submarines.

Bala’s testimonies are central to understanding the case since he had access to all involved in the murder case. For the AG to say that Bala’s statutory declaration has “no effect” on the Altantuya murder case is illogical. Also, if the declarations did not have an effect, than why did the AG bother to have Bala investigated for making a false statement in the first place?

Covering up the sins of a leader

Nazri’s contention the declarations were never intended to be used as testimony in any proceedings is also not true. After making his first statutory declaration, Bala was hauled up and coerced into making a second statutory declaration, retracting the first. In London last year, he stated very clearly that it is the first SD which is the true one, not the second.

If the statutory declarations pose no threat or were of no use in any proceedings, then why the rough treatment from the authorities towards Bala and his family. They were told to leave the country immediately and Bala later on even pin-pointed Najib's brother Nazim as among those who arranged his departure from Malaysia. Why the retraction of the first SD and the obvious dropping of references to Najib Razak and Rosmah Mansor in the second?

Nazri and the AG should be reminded that any statutory declaration made by any individual has to be proven true or false and it is evidence in a court of law against or for the individual, or else we will be making statutory declarations with impunity.

And the biggest question of it all is - is the Bala statutory declaration true or false? Bala has said it is the first one that is true. Why has this matter never been answered by the AG or Nazri? The case is closed but the authenticity of the two statutory declarations is still anyone’s guess as far as the government is concerned. And in the absence of a firm denial, we can all surmise that they were either true or hold enough truth to have the AG sweep them under the rug.

This whole affair by Nazri and the AG smells of a massive cover-up of vital information in the Altantuya murder case. Further investigation could flush out links to the exobitantly priced Scorpenes purchase, for which Najib has been accused of taking kickbacks.

Sad to day, but it certainly looks like the truth has been sacrificed in order to cover-up the sins of a leader desperately trying to hold onto power.

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