DR Mahathir Mohamad will meet Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to discuss the fate of Sirul Azhar Umar, the bodyguard sentenced to death over the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu.

The prime minister said he wanted to know Australia’s stand on the matter as Sirul is currently seeking asylum in Sydney.

“Not specifically, I just want to know the position of Australia in this issue,” Dr Mahathir told reporters when met at the Parliament lobby today.

Bishop will be arriving in Malaysian tomorrow and will be meeting her local counterpart, Saifuddin Abdullah in a closed door meeting.

Sirul, who was sentenced to death over the 2006 murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu, fled to Sydney in 2015.

Sirul has claimed he had acted on orders from above, prompting the new Pakatan Harapan government to seek his repatriation to assist in investigations into Altantuya’s death.

Previous Malaysian requests to bring back Sirul were turned down by Australia.

Sirul had said that he was prepared to tell the truth behind what actually transpired, provided that he was given a full pardon. Sirul, along with Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, were sentenced to death in 2009.

In 2013, the Court of Appeal overturned their sentences. But the death sentences were later upheld by the Federal Court.

Altantuya, 28, is believed to have been shot dead before her body was blown up with military grade explosives in a forest in Puncak Alam, Shah Alam, in 2006. – July 30, 2018.