Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has dismissed the allegation that he gave the order to kill Altantuya Shaariibu.
Ex-police commando Azilah Hadri, who was convicted of Altantuya’s murder, issued the SD dated October 17 this year, which was published in its entirety by news portal Malaysiakini.
In it, Azilah claimed Najib gave him the “shoot to kill” order verbally during a meeting on October 17, 2006.
He further claimed Najib told him then to destroy Altantuya’s body and dispose of the evidence as she was purportedly a “foreign spy” and posed a threat to Malaysia’s security.
Najib was deputy prime minister and also defence minister then.
According to Malaysiakini, Azilah’s SD was filed in court to support his application to the Federal Court for a review of the 2015 death sentence handed down on him and Sirul Azhar Umar, who has since escaped to Australia but is imprisoned in a maximum-security facility in Sydney.
Azilah reportedly also wants a fresh trial to allow the court to hear full evidence on the alleged secret operation and reportedly alleged that key facts were suppressed during court hearings at the High Court and Court of Appeal.
Tomorrow is scheduled as case management for Azilah’s application for the review and retrial.
Citing the statutory declaration, Malaysiakini also reported of Azilah’s claim of the alleged roles played by Najib’s former aide Abdul Razak Baginda and Najib’s former aide-de-camp DSP Musa Safri, noting that their responses were being sought.
Hazman Ahmad, who is Azilah’s lawyer, has been reported as saying he was not involved in the preparation of the SD, adding that they last met “two or three years ago”.
Meanwhile, Najib has dismissed Azilah’s claims, saying that this could be a plot by the Pakatan Harapan administration to divert public attention from its shortcomings.
“This is a complete fabrication by a desperate person seeking to escape the gallows.
“Why did this information not come out earlier, and only now, more than a decade after her death and only after 19 months Harapan has been in power?” he was quoted as saying.
As for the SD, Najib said that anyone can do an SD, especially if the person is already on death row.
“If you were to believe SDs then you should also believe the recent SD made against the 8th (incoming) PM,” he said in reference to the sexual misconduct allegations against PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.
He also said he has not met Altantuya as otherwise claimed by Azilah, maintaining that he is innocent.
He added that he welcomed fresh police investigation into the claims, saying that it was reported that police sources had said there was no evidence linking him to any high-profile murders.
Earlier report: Dec 16, Azilah’s Explosive SD – Najib Ordered Me to Kill Altantuya