Less than 24 hours after alleging in a sworn statement that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak was involved with a Mongolian model later found murdered, a private investigator on Friday retracted the allegation, claiming he had been forced to make it.
Balasubramaniam Perumal made a new statutory declaration on Friday saying that the allegations he made against Najib in his July 1 statutory declaration ''are inaccurate and not the truth'' and that he was compelled to make them ''under duress.'Balasubramaniam made his stunning allegations concerning Najib at a press conference Thursday together with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
He claimed he had been told by Abdul Razak Baginda, a prominent analyst closely linked to Najib, that it was Najib who introduced him to Altantuya Shaariibuu, the Mongolian model-turned-interpreter who was killed in 2006 and whose body was blown up with explosives.Abdul Razak, a married man with a daughter, has been charged with conspiring with two police officers to murder Altantuya after she allegedly blackmailed him for money when he wanted to end their love affair. Abdul Razak had hired Balasubramaniam to protect him from Altantuya's alleged harassment.The case is still pending in court.Balasubramaniam also claimed he was told by Abdul Razak that Najib and Altantuya had a sexual relationship.Balasubramaniam claimed he told the police and the public prosecutor about Najib's link to the woman, but they chose to leave it out from his signed police statement.Anwar had accused the police chief and the attorney-general of having a hand in suppressing the evidence in order to protect Najib.
Najib, however, had dismissed the sworn statement as ''a terrible lie and pure fabrication to tarnish my image.''He insisted he had never met Altantuya before and accused Anwar of orchestrating the statutory declaration to divert attention from his sodomy investigation.Saiful Bukhari Azlan, a former ''volunteer'' in Anwar's party, the People's Justice Party, has filed a police report alleging that Anwar had sodomized him recently.
Anwar has pleaded innocent and accused Najib of concocting the sodomy allegation to ruin his political ascendancy.
Many see this current event as a power play between Najib and Anwar as each aims to capture the premiership.
FormerPrime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has come under tremendous pressure to quit before his second five-year term ends following the ruling party's poor performance in the March 8 election.Abdullah has already anointed Najib as his successor while Anwar, who successfully led his opposition coalition to their best ever electoral results, is seeking to topple the government by wooing ruling party lawmakers to switch camps.
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