Lawyer for Malaysia’s former PM Najib Razak says hitman’s claim ‘laughable’

Death row inmate Azilah Hadri claimed the former prime minister ordered the death of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu in 2006

But Najib’s lawyer says this is part of a conspiracy against his client, and the convicted killer had met with a VVIP outside prison earlier this year

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Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has said the claim that he ordered a hit on a Mongolian model is part of a strategy to implicate him for murder so he can be detained without bail. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 6:30pm, 17 Dec 2019Updated: 5:53pm, 18 Dec 2019

A Malaysian death row inmate’s explosive claim that he murdered Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu in 2006 on the explicit orders of the former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak is part of a conspiracy by those seeking to undermine the ex-leader, Najib’s lawyer said on Tuesday.

A day after the statutory declaration from prison by former policeman Azilah Hadri was made public, Najib’s lawyer Shafee Abdullah put forth a stunning claim of his own – that the convicted killer had “met a VVIP outside the prison” in February.

“Outside the prison, not in the prison. This when he is a death row prisoner. Which is totally a breach of protocol. But as I said, I cannot confirm that. I’m trying to confirm,” Shafee told reporters.

At the tail end of a press conference on Tuesday evening over a separate issue, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad did not respond substantively when asked if he had met Azilah. Instead the 94-year-old premier shook his head, smiled and left the venue, reports said.

The government said on Wednesday that the premier had never met Azilah, and dismissed Shafee’s claim that it was involved in the release of the statutory declaration.

While Shafee offered no further details of the supposed meeting, the lawyer echoed Najib’s comments on Facebook on Monday that the latest development was part of a strategy to implicate the former premier for the murder so that he can be detained without bail.

The lawyer was speaking after a scheduled case management hearing over Azilah’s bid for a retrial based on the fresh details he revealed.