Altantuya’s family and the people of Malaysia deserve the full truth

Kua Kia Soong

Nearly 20 years after the brutal murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu, the latest Court of Appeal decision has delivered a deeply troubling message.

The ruling suggests that the Malaysian state can wash its hands of responsibility, even as the shadow of power, corruption and impunity continues to loom large over the case.

This is despite the “Madani” (trustworthy) government’s supposed commitment to clearing any hint of corruption in Malaysian defence procurements.

With this ruling, the family of the murdered woman receives RM1.38m in damages – far less than the RM5m originally awarded – while Razak Baginda, a central figure linked to both the murder and the Scorpene submarines deal, is liable for this sum alongside the two convicted police officers.

The government, however, has been fully discharged from liability. In stark moral terms, a young woman was murdered and her body destroyed with military-grade explosives, yet the state that employed her killers bears no legal responsibility.

This is not justice. It is legal closure without moral accountability.

A murder without a motive

Sirul Azhar Umar and Azilah Hadri were convicted in 2015 of murdering Altantuya in an act so extreme that her body was destroyed with military-grade explosives.

Yet from the very beginning, the prosecution failed to establish the motive for her murder.

This omission was not incidental – it was the original sin of the entire trial.

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the government is not vicariously liable because the two policemen were not acting in the course of their official duties.

This narrow legal interpretation ignores the larger, unresolved questions.

How did two elite police personnel gain access to military explosives?

Why were officers attached to the office of the then deputy PM involved at all?

And who ordered, facilitated or benefited from the silencing of Altantuya?

A justice system that isolates the act from its political and institutional context may satisfy technical legal thresholds, but it fails the public interest.

Scorpene submarines and hidden commissions

Altantuya’s murder cannot be divorced from the RM7bn Scorpene submarines procurement – a deal already tainted by allegations of massive kickbacks.

In Parliament and in the French courts, it has been established that €114m (about RM500m) was paid to Perimekar Sdn Bhd for “coordination and support services”.

Perimekar was wholly owned by KS Ombak Laut Sdn Bhd, a company controlled by Razak Baginda, whose wife was a principal shareholder.

Perimekar had no expertise in submarines. It was incorporated just months before the deal was signed. And yet it became the conduit for hundreds of millions of ringgit.

French investigations went further. Documents seized from DCN’s former chief financial officer revealed evidence of hidden commissions that may have violated the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.

Beyond the €114m, there were at least two additional commission payments – including over €30m routed through Thalès’ commercial networks, and a further €2.5m whose recipients remain unidentified.

These are not rumours. They are findings emerging from judicial proceedings in France – proceedings initiated after Suaram lodged a complaint in Paris in 2009.

The unavoidable question is this: who in Malaysia received these commissions?

And was Altantuya killed because she knew too much – or because she was demanding a share of what she believed was owed to her?

The powerful walk away

The obscenity of the present situation is hard to ignore.

Altantuya’s family, after nearly two decades of grief, litigation and uncertainty, receives just RM1.38m in damages – whilst those linked to the deal face no comparable reckoning.

The Court of Appeal upheld that Razak Baginda, Sirul and Azilah are jointly liable for her death.

Yet the larger system that enabled this crime – politically, institutionally and financially – remains untouched.

Lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo is right to seek clarification from the Federal Court on whether an employer can evade liability for the unlawful acts of its employees when those acts are enabled by their position, training and access.

This question goes to the heart of public accountability in Malaysia.

A royal commission of inquiry

Given the scale of the unresolved issues – the erased immigration records, the interference alleged by defence lawyers, the sudden changes of judges and prosecutors, the silencing of witnesses and the refusal to pursue motive – only a royal commission of inquiry can restore public confidence.

Such a commission must not be cosmetic. Its terms of reference must include:

• The motive for Altantuya’s murder
• Her links, if any, to the Scorpene negotiations
• The payment and recipients of all commissions related to the submarines deal
• The role of political office-holders, senior police officers and intermediaries
• Why the prosecution systematically avoided these questions

Its members must be independent, credible and fearless – and its recommendations must lead to prosecutions, not just reports gathering dust.

Justice and accountability

Justice for Altantuya is not only about compensating her family.

It is about confronting a system that allowed a young woman to be murdered with impunity, whilst billions of ringgit changed hands in secret.

Until the truth about the Scorpene commissions is fully disclosed, and until those who ordered, enabled or benefited from this crime are held to account, Malaysia cannot claim closure.

Altantuya’s family deserves justice. And the people of Malaysia deserve the truth.

Kua Kia Soong, a former MP, is the director of human rights group Suaram.

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