Prosecution’s failure to call Musa key to ex-cops’ successful appeal in Altantuya murder

The failure of the prosection to call Deputy Superintendent Musa Safri and the failure of the trial judge to consider the notice of alibi were among the main reasons for the acquittal of two former policemen in the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu.

In the 47-page written judgment released this morning, the three-man Court of Appeal bench ruled the failure to call Musa proved fatal to the prosecution's case as he could have unravelled the narrative of the prosection's case.

The two former police commandos, chief inspector Azilah Hadri and corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, were acquitted on Friday for the murder of Altantuya on October 19, 2006.

The judgment written by Court of Appeal judge Datuk Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat also pointed to discrepancies in the affidavit by political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda and Sirul's testimony in court pertaining to Musa's involvement in the case.

"It must not be overlooked that this ugly and horrendous episode started with the request by Razak to Musa before Azilah and Sirul came into the picture.

"The evidence established that Azilah and Sirul's task was to patrol the vicinity of Razak's house and their presence there that night was upon the request of Razak to Azilah," Tengku Maimun said in the judgment.

Only Musa could have unravelled this, she added.

At the time, Musa was the aide-de-camp of the then Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

On Azilah's acquittal, the Court of Appeal ruled that trial judge Datuk Mohd Zaki Md Yassin had failed to consider the notice of alibi which revealed that Azilah could not have been at two places at the same time on the night of Altantuya's murder.

The Court of Appeal said the call logs of telecommunication companies which were tendered by the prosecution were aimed to track Azilah’s movement on the day Altantuya was murdered.

According to the exhibits, Azilah was at Pekan Subang at 10.15pm and at Kampung Melayu Subang at 10.19pm.

However, the police station diary at Bukit Aman indicated that Azilah was there collecting his weapon, a Glock EAH 387, and two bullet magazines at 10.18pm.

He had then headed to Putrajaya for escort duty with Najib.

The investigating officer in  Altantuya's murder case, ASP Tonny Lunggan, had testified in the trial that the station diary was true and accurate.

This, the Court of Appeal held, had cast doubts on the accuracy of the call logs.

“The trial judge should have directed his mind to the two contradicting sets of evidence and in failing to do so had misdirected himself.

"We do not find it anywhere in the judgment that the trial judge had considered whether the station diary and the evidence that Azilah was at Wangsa Maju and at Bukit Aman at the material time, shows that by reason he cannot be or unlikely to be at Puncak Alam.

“In the circumstances, the judge had misdirected himself by way of non-direction in failing to consider the evidence,” she said, referring to the trial judge’s failure to consider the defence of alibi.

She said the call logs and coverage prediction were important evidence to establish Azilah’s presence at the crime scene.

“It is essential for the learned judge to address his mind to the challenge raised by the defence on the exhibits and to make a finding whether there was in fact an alteration or tampering of the data and whether the authenticity of the data was questionable or otherwise,” she said.

“Regrettably, the judge failed to do this, which amounts to serious misdirection rendering the said exhibits unsafe to be relied upon.”

The court had also said the trial judge should have made a finding on the connection between the explosives and the two policemen and his failure to address this missing link resulted in yet another misdirection.

Tengku Maimun added that the three-man Court of Appeal bench could not say if a reasonable tribunal, properly directed, would have convicted the appellants on available evidence.

"The court below had ignored and overlooked salient facts and evidence favourable to the appellants which resulted in serious and substantial miscarriage of justice,” she said.

“The cummulative effects of these non-directions rendered the conviction unsafe. We are conscious that a heinous crime has been committed but where the guilt of the appellants had not been satisfactorily proved, we are constrained to give the benefit of doubt to them.

“We unanimously allow both appeals. Conviction and sentence by the High Court is set aside, the appellants are accordingly acquitted and discharged.

Prosecution not at fault, AG says there was no need for Musa to testify

Despite the Court of Appeal ruling that the failure of the prosecution to call Deputy Superintendent Musa Safri to the stand had weakened its case, the Attorney-General’s stand is still that Musa was of no relevance to it.

Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, in disagreeing with the ruling, said there was no need to call Musa, who was the aide-de-camp of Datuk Seri Najib Razak, to unfold the narrative of the prosecution’s case.

"While respecting the Court of Appeal, the Attorney-General's Chambers is dissatisfied with the decision. Non-direction or misdirection by the trial court is not the fault of the prosecution,” Gani said in a statement today.

"As far as DSP Musa Safri is concerned, we maintain that his testimony had no relevance at all as the whole narrative of the prosecution's case had been unfolded in the trial below. Hence, an appeal to the Federal Court will be filed."

The Court of Appeal this morning allowed the appeal of the two former policemen, Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar, who were convicted of murdering Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu.

In their judgment, the three-man panel said the failure to call Musa hurt the prosecution's case.

Lawyer Karpal Singh, who was holding a watching brief for Altantuya’s family, has said he intends to  subpoena Musa and Najib as witnesses in a RM100 million civil suit filed by Altantuya's father, Setev Shaariibuu, against Abdul Razak Baginda, Azilah, Sirul and the government over his daughter’s death. 

Abdul Razak was also charged with the murder but was acquitted in 2008 without his defence being called.

The civil suit was put on hold pending today’s appeal and is likely to be further delayed because of the AG’s intention to appeal today’s decision. 

Students denounce plan to list PTPTN loan defaulters in credit bureau database

Student activists are planning to hold a demonstration to protest the announcement by Education Minister II Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh to link PTPTN loan defaulters to Bank Negara's credit bureau database.

Adam Adli Abdul Halim, a well-known student-rights activist, said university students did not take the issue lightly, adding that they will not let it go without doing anything.

"We are discussing it. We will definitely protest," Adam told The Malaysian Insider today.

Idris had announced yesterday, PTPTN's move to link its list of defaulters to the Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS), a computerised database system under Bank Negara used by banks to assess prospective borrowers' financial profile.

The announcement was met with a huge outcry from the Opposition, non-governmental organisations and students, which prompted the minister to insist that the move will not "victimise" students.

"We will make sure that nobody would be at a loss. PTPTN, students and the country would be happy," he told The Malaysian Insider today.

Adam, however, pointed out that the ministry's move showed that the PTPTN was never set up for the students' welfare nor help anyone, but it was a trap to profit from the students' suffering.

"After the announcement, many student groups and other bodies like political parties have met to discuss and make a decision on how to respond to this."

"It is not right to list down the individuals who owe money to PTPTN in the CCRIS as in a declining economy and difficulty in getting jobs, students should be given the opportunity to take loans to start a business. Blacklisting them will simply mean they will be denied access to funds,” he said.

He argued that the CCRIS listing will not solve any problems, but instead showed how short-sighted the minister was.

Meanwhile, Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM) chairman Safwan Anang said his group will try and meet Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin to discuss the issue.

"We plan to meet Khairy  and bring this matter to him. If that does not work, we will protest again," he added.

"We object to the CCRIS listing as it is more burdensome. While Khairy wants to solve the issue of bankruptcy among the young people, this other minister wants to blacklist us."

Adam, in sharing Safwan's sentiments, said: "This latest development shows that Idris Jusoh is not the right person to look after the education portfolio, especially higher education. He does not understand student affairs and their welfare."

In April last year, Adam, Safwan along with 300 students held a demonstration at Dataran Merdeka, calling for the abolishment of the PTPTN.

They marched, carrying pictures of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the-then Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin with wreaths around it as a show of protest.

The group then set up tents at the historic Dataran Merdeka and stayed on until the Bersih 3.0 gathering on July 28.

Echoing Pakatan, Umno Youth wants no blacklist of varsity loan defaulters

Umno Youth reached across the political aisle today to back Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) call to stop Putrajaya’s move to list National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) defaulters on Bank Negara’s Credit Bureau database.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said the wing disagreed with the public-shaming exercise, and urged the federal government to try other credit collection mechanisms to collect from the defaulters.

“The government could use other existing measures to take action against defaulters who had stubbornly refused to pay up despite notices being issued to them,” he said in a statement.

He added that priority should be given to an integrated approach that includes introducing incentives for those who pay up and a flexible payment system that takes into consideration the borrowers’ financial situation.

“This is because PTPTN loan is different from other credit facilities such as credit card or hire purchase which are loans taken out of personal choice while PTPTN is a necessity for students,” he said.

The youth and sports minister said the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loan has become a necessity for students because the government does not provide free education at institutes of higher learning.

A diploma or a degree has become a must for the intellectual development of the youths of today, he said.

“Meanwhile, the group of borrowers who had refused to pay up their loans is small and this action to blacklist all defaulters will create a negative impression of PTPTN,” he said.

Khairy was responding to a recent statement by Education Minister II Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh that beginning this month; PTPTN has started collaborating with Bank Negara to list defaulters on the CCRIS.

Idris was reported as saying yesterday that beginning this month, the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) has been collaborating with Bank Negara to list defaulters on the CCRIS.

PR leaders have cried foul over this announcement and demanded that the government stop this plan and threatened a nationwide campaign to protest the move it is not shelved.

Putrajaya to fly students out tonight as Egypt grows more restive

The government will evacuate Malaysian students in Egypt starting from tonight, following reports of growing security risks in the area, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today.

He said a team from Malaysia’s national security council in Cairo found that the situation is becoming more uncertain, and advised for evacuation to begin immediately.

“From tonight, we will be booking tickets on commercial flights via Oman and Istanbul, among other destinations, to bring our students home,” Najib said at a press conference at the Hari Raya open house of chief secretary to the government Tan Sri Ali Hamsa today.

The prime minister said the government is finalising logistics to transfer the students who had volunteered to be sent home, and expects it to take several days to evacuate them should all 3,300 Malaysian students choose to return to Malaysia.

He noted that the government chose to use only commercial flights as it would be too expensive to use the military’s fleet of Hercules C130 transport planes as they are only designed for short haul flights and would require additional clearance from other countries to refuel.

Najib said he has also instructed his deputy and Education Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, to get in touch with the Al-Azhar University in Cairo to work out a new schedule for Malaysian students to sit for their exams.

He added that Malaysia may consider the possibility of working with the university to open a campus here, considering this is the second time in as many years that students have been flown back due to civil unrest.

“We are still thinking about it. Al-Azhar University is a renowned university in terms of Islamic studies, so maybe we can look at opening a Malaysia campus, among other alternatives,” he said.

Putrajaya has revoked PR status of Johor resort owner in surau backlash

Putrajaya has revoked the permanent resident (PR) status of a resort operator in Johor who had allowed a group of Buddhist to meditate in the resort's surau, saying  he was being "insensitive to Muslims and Islam".

Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today the revocation was done in accordance with provisions in the Federal Constitution, adding the resort operator was told this while under detention.

"He is a Singaporean and the PR status is a privilege given to him and the government can withdraw it. He can still come and go into the country but he is now subjected to the requirements under the Immigration Act for expatriate workers in the country,"  Zahid told reporters in Putrajaya today.

The resort owner was arrested last week after a 63-second video - "Chinese Buddhists pray in surau: surau becomes temple" - depicting a Buddhist group using the surau at the resort for meditation was uploaded on YouTube on August 10.

The owner had earlier defended his action, saying that he did not think allowing believers of other religions to use the surau was wrong.

Ahmad Zahid hoped the episode would serve as a lesson to others not to treat lightly issues of religious sensitivities.

"No one one should take our hospitality for granted. It is not a light matter especially when his action has belittled Islam the official religion of the Federation," he told reporters after attending a Hari Raya open house organised by Pengasih, a non-governmental organisation set up to assist drug dependents.

He said his ministry had no powers over Islamic religious matters as that came under the jurisdiction of rulers of the states.

"We are more concerned about safety and public order," he said, adding his ministry would work together with agencies including Jakim to curb posting of senstive videos in the social media.

Ahmad Zahid also assured the ministry would have reacted in the same manner if the sanctity of other religions were not respected.

The resort owner's decision to allow the Buddhist to use the surau had reportedly caused a furore among the fishing community in Sedili Besar, Kota Tinggi, after it was discovered by a resort visitor who wanted to perform his Asar prayers at the surau last Saturday.

Following the incident, the 45-year-old resort owner was arrested for four days to assist in the investigation.

He was released on police bail yesterday.

The police said the investigation papers of the case was being finalised before submitting it to the public prosecutor for action.

"We are also waiting for further directive from the public prosecutor while at the same time, monitoring all activities and public reaction pertaining to the case," said Johor deputy police chief Datuk Ismail Yatim yesterday.

The Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim, has ordered the surau demolished once investigations were completed.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin yesterday urged all parties to stop the polemics over the issue of demolishing a resort's surau.

He said there was no need to argue over the issue anymore as the state government would abide by the Sultan’s order.

"The decision has been made. It is the order made by Sultan Ibrahim, as the head of the Islamic religion in the state. In making the decision, the Sultan had sought the views and advise of various parties,” he said today. - August 17, 2013.

Can you name Malaysia’s best Home Minister ever?

Someone wondered the other day: who was Malaysia's best Home Minister?

The question was in response to the increasingly irrational behaviour of Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who has only one move in his playbook: use the sledgehammer to pummel and bully his way to hero status in Umno.

Justice, fairness, moderation are words that have no place in Zahid's small world, crowded out by grandstanding.

The question was also in response to a growing sense that the country is in a tailspin, buffeted from every side by worsening race relations, intolerance, a crime epidemic and in serious need of a firm but fair hand.

So who was the best Home Minister? Was it Tan Sri Ghazali Shafie? Was it Musa Hitam? Was it Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad? Was it Tun Abdullah Badawi? Was it Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar? Surely you remember Syed Hamid - he detained a journalist under the Internal Security Act to protect her, he said! What about Hishammuddin Hussein? He who was taking a serious view of this or that while crime was unravelling on the streets.

But seriously, on stature, standard and principle, none of the above comes even close to Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman. This Home Minister was called into action following the May 13 riots, when feelings among the different races were raw and legitimate questions were being raised whether the nascent democracy of Malaysia had gone up in smoke. This was a dangerous time: lives were lost, property destroyed and talk of a land of milk and honey almost foolish to entertain.

Dr Ismail could have played the race and religious card and become the most popular politician in Umno. He didn't.

Instead he went on television and delivered a stark message, edited by his friend Robert Kuok, on the death of democracy. It was his way of telling Malaysians that this would be the outcome for the country if people didn't put away their prejudices and work with the government towards reconciliation.

With the carrot came the stick. He ordered the arrest of troublemakers with no regard to their race, Malay, Indian or Chinese. And warned Malay ultras to expect no mercy if they agitated. Once he remarked that he would arrest his own mother if she did anything illegal.

Former deputy prime minister Musa Hitam watched the television broadcast and recalled "a sense of relief came over us, the sheer force of the man's reputation for fairness was magic".

Chet Singh of Penang Development Board remembered feeling comforted on hearing news that Tun Dr Ismail was returning as Home Minister.

This is how Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah described the Home Minister's performance during the darkest period in Malaysian history: "Ismail was a principled man - and was seen that way by the different races... once he decided on something you could be sure that he had gone through the relevant details and studied them. What is confidence unless it is based on the people's belief in the leader?"

Kuok said: "He was a lovely man with the strength of character, high principles and a great sense of fairness. In my opinion, he was probably the most non-racial, non-racist Malay I have ever met. Doc was a stickler for total fair play, for correctness."

Going through the excellent book, "The Reluctant Politician" by Ooi Kee Beng and culling information from various other articles on Tun Dr Ismail, these words crop up: firm, fair, principled, moderate.

Till today, older Malaysians across the racial and political divide remember Dr Ismail with rare affection. And then fall into a valley of despair when they compare him with the likes of Hishammuddin and Zahid.

He may have ticked off the dog trainer of the video clip fame but no way would he have agreed to have her remanded like a common criminal. Similarly he would have frowned on the Singaporean resort owner who allowed a Buddhist group to use the surau for meditation but you can't see him stoking the fires by talking about stripping the Singaporean of his permanent residence.

Why? Because those who knew him intimately said he never seemed interested in cultivating a loyal group of followers. Or, as Ooi Kee Beng wrote: "His style of politics, infused with the reluctance he had felt about going into politics, did not involve populist tactics."

In short, he did not grandstand at the expense of fair play or audition for a higher position in Umno as Zahid Hamidi seems to be doing on a daily basis.

These days there is little care that the take-no-prisoners approach of Zahid Hamidi and other Umno leaders is creating a them-versus-us undercurrent in Malaysian society. There is little sense of fairness or proportion to how Government reacts to a prickly situation.

Umno politicians have the slogans but few of them understand that fairness and justice are critical building blocks of nationhood.

The end result: a lack of respect among the public for the moral standing or competence of government leaders. And a growing sense of desperation for that one leader who can halt the country from sliding further into the abyss of despair with that combination of firmness, fairness and moderation.

This is what Abdullah Ali said about Tun Dr Ismail in the book, The Reluctant Politician: "He believed fully in the oneness of Malaysia, and worked on that belief. He did not care whom he had to fight. He was absolutely neutral. When you had to deal with him, you knew you would get fair treatment."