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PI Bala’s SD linking me to Altantuya untrue, says Najib
5 hours ago
Faisal Asyraf
Former prime minister Najib Razak says the contents of a statutory declaration made by private investigator P Balasubramaniam on July 1, 2008 are a ‘total fabrication’
Najib Razak is suing Tommy Thomas and publisher GB Gerakbudaya Enterprise Sdn Bhd over alleged defamatory content in Thomas’s memoir, ‘My Story: Justice in the Wilderness’.
SHAH ALAM: Former prime minister Najib Razak has maintained that a statutory declaration (SD) made by a private investigator 17 years ago linking him to Altantuya Shaariibuu’s murder was a lie.
Testifying in his suit against former attorney-general Tommy Thomas, Najib insisted that P Balasubramaniam’s first SD, made on July 1, 2008, was “untrue”.
He also acknowledged that he had not taken legal action against either Balasubramaniam or Malaysiakini over the contents of an interview series published in 2009.
Balasubramaniam, also known as “PI Bala”, issued a second SD just one day after his first – this time recanting his earlier claim and denying any link between Najib and the Mongolian national.
He later recanted the second SD, claiming it was made under duress.
Cross-examined by counsel Alan Adrian Gomez, representing Thomas, Najib said the first SD linking him to Altantuya was a “total fabrication”.
Gomez: Would you agree that the articles report how PI Bala recanted the second SD?
Najib: The first SD is totally untrue.
Gomez: Would you agree that the way it was reported, PI Bala stood by the first SD?
Najib: The way it’s written? It’s not true. You want me to confirm something that is not true.
Gomez: Yet you never sued PI Bala or Malaysiakini for the articles?
Najib: No, I didn’t.
Asked if he had personal knowledge of Balasubramaniam being placed under duress during the making of the first SD, Najib said: “There must have been some form of persuasion because it’s a total fabrication.”
He said the SD contained serious allegations which could be deemed defamatory.
Najib is suing Thomas and publisher GB Gerakbudaya Enterprise Sdn Bhd over alleged defamatory content in Thomas’s memoir, “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness”, published in early 2021.
Najib’s complaint centres around the contents of Chapter 42, titled “Altantuya”, which runs from pages 400 to 405.
He is seeking unspecified damages and wants words and statements deemed defamatory to be removed.
He also wants Thomas and Gerakbudaya to tender an apology, and is seeking a permanent injunction to prevent them from publishing defamatory statements about him.
The hearing before Justice Khadijah Idris continues on Jan 19.
Testifying in his suit against former attorney-general Tommy Thomas, Najib insisted that P Balasubramaniam’s first SD, made on July 1, 2008, was “untrue”.
He also acknowledged that he had not taken legal action against either Balasubramaniam or Malaysiakini over the contents of an interview series published in 2009.
Balasubramaniam, also known as “PI Bala”, issued a second SD just one day after his first – this time recanting his earlier claim and denying any link between Najib and the Mongolian national.
He later recanted the second SD, claiming it was made under duress.
Cross-examined by counsel Alan Adrian Gomez, representing Thomas, Najib said the first SD linking him to Altantuya was a “total fabrication”.
Gomez: Would you agree that the articles report how PI Bala recanted the second SD?
Najib: The first SD is totally untrue.
Gomez: Would you agree that the way it was reported, PI Bala stood by the first SD?
Najib: The way it’s written? It’s not true. You want me to confirm something that is not true.
Gomez: Yet you never sued PI Bala or Malaysiakini for the articles?
Najib: No, I didn’t.
Asked if he had personal knowledge of Balasubramaniam being placed under duress during the making of the first SD, Najib said: “There must have been some form of persuasion because it’s a total fabrication.”
He said the SD contained serious allegations which could be deemed defamatory.
Najib is suing Thomas and publisher GB Gerakbudaya Enterprise Sdn Bhd over alleged defamatory content in Thomas’s memoir, “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness”, published in early 2021.
Najib’s complaint centres around the contents of Chapter 42, titled “Altantuya”, which runs from pages 400 to 405.
He is seeking unspecified damages and wants words and statements deemed defamatory to be removed.
He also wants Thomas and Gerakbudaya to tender an apology, and is seeking a permanent injunction to prevent them from publishing defamatory statements about him.
The hearing before Justice Khadijah Idris continues on Jan 19.
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