Altantuya Murder Case: Raja Petra Revealed Names on Allegations Najib's Wife was at the Murder Scene and the Attempt to Buy His Silence

Background:

On 18th June 2008, Raja Petra Kamarudin filed a Statutory Declaration (click HERE or read BELOW) at a Commissioner of Oath, registered under the jurisdiction of Kuala Lumpur High Court against Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, wife of the Deputy Prime Minister alleging that she was at the scene when Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu was murdered.
Read here and here in malaysiakini and here for more

Today (4th May 2009), Raja Petra revealed his source of the information leading to his Statutory Declaration . He wrote that during his detention from 12th to the 22nd September 2008, the Special Branch tried to create doubts in his mind on his allegations that Rosmah was at the murder scene.

He said the Special Branch did not allow him to sign his statement/confession after the interrogation, instead sent him to Kamunting Detention Centre.

Read HERE the FULL Article.

Excerpts of the article published in Malaysia-Today:

"... Here is part of my interrogation by the Special Branch -- what they asked and what I replied.

SPECIAL BRANCH:
We find your Statutory Declaration very hard to believe. We don’t think what you said about Rosmah being at the murder scene is correct. It is highly unlikely. Rosmah is very rich. She has plenty of money. Why would she want to take the risk of going there personally? She can pay someone to do the job. No need for her to go there herself. We don’t think so. It doesn’t make sense for her to go there herself.

Raja Petra:
Well, that’s what I was told, that she went there personally. I know what I was told.

SPECIAL BRANCH:
Who told you?

Raja Petra:
Lt Kol Azmi Zainal Abidin. He is the number two in the Special Branch of the Military Intelligence.

He is very close to Ku Li (Tengku Razaleigh). He is always in Ku Li’s office. And Anwar Ibrahim also knows him very well. I admit I don't know Lt Kol Azmi that well.

But the person who introduced us is a very old friend. I’ve known him for about 45 years, longer than I’ve known my wife. And I trust my friend. My friend gave me his personal assurance that the story is legit.

SPECIAL BRANCH:
Who is that friend?

Raja Petra:
Nik Azmi Nik Daud. We call him Bull. He works for Ku Li.

I also asked Din Merican to check with Anwar whether I can trust Lt Kol Azmi with my life. Those were the exact words I used. Anwar replied you should never trust anyone with your life. However, Lt Kol Azmi’s information is very reliable.

I also asked John Pang, who also works for Ku Li, to check with Ku Li whether Lt Kol Azmi’s information is reliable. I told John what Lt Kol Azmi told us and asked him to inform Ku Li about it.

John confirmed that Lt Kol Azmi told Ku Li the same thing and that the information is reliable.

Initially, I wanted to just write an article. But Bull (Nik Azmi Nik Daud) asked to meet first before I write anything. So we met early April at La Bordega in Bangsar. Bull suggested I should instead sign a Statutory Declaration, as that would be stronger. They can ignore my article but they can’t ignore a Statutory Declaration.

Bull called for a second meeting on the Sunday before I signed the Statutory Declaration. We met at the Selangor Club Dataran Merdeka for lunch. I told Bull I was a bit worried about signing a Statutory Declaration because the government will surely arrest and charge me if I do.

Bull said if anything happens to me they would go to court to testify that what I had signed is the truth. Bull assured me they would not allow me to rot in jail. So, on the 18th June, I signed the Statutory Declaration. I trust him. As I said, I’ve known him for 45 years.

SPECIAL BRANCH:
Didn’t Najib’s people approach you to make a deal?

Raja Petra :
You mean to buy my silence? Yes, they did.

SPECIAL BRANCH:
Who? When?

Raja Petra:
Datuk Jamaluddin Jarjis (JJ). It was not long after I was charged for sedition, before I signed the Statutory Declaration.

JJ phoned and said he wanted to meet. I knew he was working for Najib so I agreed. We met at the car park outside Kelab Taman Perdana. My wife drove me there and waited at a distance.

JJ arrived about 6pm and asked me to get into his car. He was alone. I signalled (my wife) to go home and she wrote down JJ’s car number plate in case I disappeared or whatever.

We drove to a roadside stall in Jalan Ipoh and sat there and talked.

JJ told me that Najib had asked him to meet me to make a deal. I asked him whether Najib really knows we are meeting and whether he had endorsed or sanctioned the meeting and JJ replied that our meeting was on Najib’s instructions.

We spent about an hour talking. The bottom line is he wanted me to stop writing about Najib and Altantuya.

He also asked me whether I could delay my sedition trial until Najib becomes the Prime Minister. Once Najib is installed as Prime Minister they will drop the charges against me. I will also receive a monthly allowance of RM30,000 for my cooperation. He didn’t say for how long though.

I asked him how to delay the trial and he replied I can always get a medical certificate to confirm I am not fit enough to attend trial. I told him if I delayed the trial then the legal costs would increase and he offered to pay all the legal fees. He asked me to get my lawyers to issue an invoice and he would pay the cost, whatever it may be.

I told my lawyers about this incident so that at least some other people know about it.

SPECIAL BRANCH:
So, what happened to the deal?

Raja Petra:
Soon after that ( meeting with JJ) I signed my Statutory Declaration. That was my way of saying no deal.

After that they arrested me and charged me for criminal defamation. I suppose that was their way of replying to my reply.

The above is a small portion of my questions and answers session with the Special Branch over the five days of interrogation. This, plus a lot more, was compiled into a report, which I was supposed to sign on the morning of 23 September 2008 -- but which never materialised for some strange reason.

I am probably the first ISA detainee in almost 50 years who made a statement (confession) but was never asked to sign it."
- Raja Petra Kamarudin

RAJA PETRA'S STATUTORY DECLARATION: 18th June 2008