SHAARIIBUU Setev, the father of murdered Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu, is coming to Malaysia later this month to meet Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Lawyer Ramkarpal Singh, who represents Altantuya’s family, said he is arranging for Shaariibuu to meet Dr Mahathir and new Attorney-General Tommy Thomas when the Mongolian visits in the next two weeks.

“I hope to arrange an appointment for my client and myself to meet them to discuss the possibility of reopening investigations into the case or alternatively, setting up a Royal Commission of Inquiry for the purpose of establishing the motive behind the murder,” he said.

Ramkarpal, who is also DAP’s Bukit Gelugor MP, has been lobbying for Altantuya’s murder to be reinvestigated following the change of government in Putrajaya.

He had previously said the motive behind her murder, which was linked to the Scorpene submarine purchase deal and former prime minister Najib Razak, was never ascertained all these years.

Altantuya was said to be the lover of Abdul Razak Baginda – a defence analyst who advised Najib between 2000 and 2008 when he was defence minister.

She was shot dead and her body was blown up by military-grade C4 explosives in Shah Alam in 2006.

Two policemen, Sirul Azhar Umar and Azilah Hadri, who were once Najib’s bodyguards, were found guilty and sentenced to death in 2015.

Razak was charged with abetment in the murder, but was freed.

Azilah is on death row at the Kajang prison, while Sirul is being held in an Australian immigration detention centre.

He had gone to Australia before the sentencing. Sirul recently offered to testify on the murder in exchange for a pardon.

UK daily The Guardian reported that Australia would extradite Sirul at Malaysia’s request, but Dr Mahathir denied making such a request because the convicted man “feared he would be hung” if he returned.

“When we reduce his sentence to life, maybe he will come back,” he said at the Prime Minister’s Office today.

Ramkarpal, who had previously stressed that Sirul must pay from his crime, said the Home Ministry would review the death penalty and it was possible that Sirul’s sentence would be reduced to life imprisonment.

“In the circumstances, I urge the Australian authorities to seriously consider extraditing Sirul, if the decision to do so has not yet been made, as this may trigger fresh investigations into Altantuya’s murder, particularly on the question of who ordered the same.  

“I have said before that the motive of the said murder must be exposed as the failure to do so can give rise to the perception that certain parties are being protected.

“If further investigations reveal a cover up on this issue, all those involved must be dealt with according to law and possibly be charged for aiding and abetting in her murder,” he said. – June 8, 2018.