KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has denied any allegations of seeking to influence or silence ex-police officer Sirul Azhar Umar, who was convicted of the murder of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibu in 2006.
In a statement issued by his legal team, Shafee & Co, it stated that Najib urged Sirul to be brave and to disclose any information he might have regarding the purported mastermind, in the interest of uncovering the truth, transparency and justice.
"As the current Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain had pointed out, Sirul had been given the opportunity to defend himself in line with Malaysian laws and the constitution, and that Sirul's claim in his recent interview were never raised in any court that heard his case - from the High Court to the Court of Appeal and finally to the Federal Court.
"In this regard, our client states that given that Sirul was faced with the death penalty throughout his trials, he should have raised his recent allegations to the courts if the same had merit, but yet had not done so," it said.
Despite frequent misrepresented media reports, it stated both Sirul and former Inspector Azilah Hadri were never the dedicated bodyguards of Najib, but came from a pool of bodyguards which was rotated between the top leaderships in the then Cabinet.
"In fact, both were arrested for the first time after they arrived at the airport from the United Kingdom after they had performed their duties to protect the previous prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi."