NAJIB, ROSMAH ON TENTERHOOKS: 'I did as I was told' Altantuya killer on verge of revealing murder bosses

Former police commando Sirul Azhar Umar is a vexed man. In carrying out the 'hit' on Altantuya Shaariibuu, he is adamant that he was following orders meant to safeguard the interest of the nation. For that, he now faces the death sentence.

"If I die today, I would not find peace as I did what I was told and this is what I get in return," he told Malaysiakini in a recent telephone conversation from Australia.

Sirul, who was convicted together with another former police commando Azilah Hadri for the murder of Altantuya, is also dissatisfied with the country's legal system.

He felt that deputy superintendent Musa Safri, who was his superior and former aide de camp of Najib Abdul Razak, who was then deputy prime minister, should have been put on the witness stand by the prosecution.

The Court of Appeal had in 2013 acquitted Azilah and Sirul as a result of a serious misdirection by the Shah Alam High Court judge Mohd Zaki Yasin, who was the trial judge, and this included the non-calling of Musa.

However, Sirul lamented that the Federal Court, which last month upheld the prosecution's appeal, had disregarded this.

"The court also ignored the questionable DNA evidence on the bloodstain found on a shoe placed in my car as well as my own DNA sample.

"The court ignored this despite the strong submissions made by my lawyers," he added.

The prosecution team led by deputy solicitor-general I Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah had argued that Musa was not a key witness in the trial and hence there was no need to call him.

However, Sirul's lawyers Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin and Hasnal Rezua Merican submitted that the non-calling of Musa constituted a mistrial.

On the DNA evidence, the chemist had testified that there was a possibility the DNA from the bloodstain could be from Altantuya despite the doubts cast.

Motive not established

In the telephone conversation this week, Sirul reiterated that he was made a "scapegoat" in the grisly murder, where Altantuya was shot in the head and her remains blown up with military-grade explosives.

He is also distressed by political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda's claim in an interview last month that "rogue policemen" were responsible for Altantuya's death in 2006.

Razak Baginda, a close associate of Najib, was charged with abetting the murder but later freed without his defence being called.

Yesterday, Malaysiakini reported Sirul claiming he acted under orders and that he did not know both Altantuya and Razak Baginda before the murder.

He is also considering accepting an interview to reveal all on the murder after being approached by several Australian media.

Since the case was first heard at the Shah Alam High Court in 2007 up to its conclusion at the apex court last month, the murder motive was never established.

Sirul was absent when the Federal Court revealed its verdict, and news later emerged that he is in Australia.

The 43-year-old father of two is currently being held at the Immigration and Border Protection Department's facility in Sydney.

According to Sirul, he is well treated by the Australian authorities and he is staying alone in a room with four beds at the detention camp.

He said he was allowed to use his mobile phone and has access to the Internet.

Asked what prompted him to flee to Australia, Sirul said he had a premonition that he would be convicted. - M'kini