November 30, 2012
The Deepak Expose : The Scorpene Scandal and the Murder that refuses to fade away
by John Berthelsen @www.asiasentinel.com
A key figure says he helped PM’s wife get a witness out of town
A key figure involved in the cover-up of the spectacular 2006 murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu appears to have gone off the reservation, giving interviews to opposition media hinting at the involvement of Rosmah Mansor, the wife of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, in the conspiracy.
Deepak Jaikishan (left), a Kuala Lumpur-based carpet dealer who reportedly was Mansor’s business partner in the past, allegedly promised RM5 million to get out of the country to a private detective who charged that Najib had been Altantuya’s former lover, after the detective filed a sworn declaration describing his knowledge of the affair between the two and giving excruciating details of sexual practices, among other specifics.
The detective, Perumal Balasubramaniam, was terrorized after being dragooned into a Kuala Lumpur police station and told his family was in danger. He immediately decamped for Chennai, India after being promised the money to recant his declaration. He has remained outside of Malaysia, issuing periodic statements giving additional details of the affairs as well as alleged attempts by Najib’s forces to cajole him into coming back and blame Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim for the whole thing.
Altantuya, named in French Police documents as a translator, was murdered in October 2006 by two members of an elite police unit operating under Najib’s jurisdiction. The two were later convicted and sentenced to death for the crime. Abdul Razak Baginda, one of Najib’s closest associates and according to French prosecuting magistrates’ documents the alleged conduit for a €114 million bribe to the United Malays National Organization for the purchase of submarines from the French defense contractor DCN and its subsidiaries, was acquitted of the crime.
Razak Baginda had been Altantuya’s lover, supposedly after Najib had given her up, according to Balasubramaniam’s sworn declaration. Immediately on being cleared without having to put on a defense, Razak Baginda fled to the UK with his wife, where he has remained ever since.
Attempts to reach Jaikishan by Asia Sentinel have been unsuccessful. He first contacted Harakan Daily, the Malay-language newspaper operated by Parti Islam se-Malaysia, the Islamic opposition leg of the three-party Pakatan Rakyat headed by Anwar, and later gave an interview to Malaysiakini, the Kuala Lumpur-based independent online news website, describing additional details. Additional interviews have also been carried by the Malaysia Chronicle, another opposition website.
In the interviews, Jaikishan acknowledged that Najib and Rosmah had asked for his help in dealing with Balasubramaniam. In a translated interview, he told Harakan Daily that “Maybe my mistake was helping in the case of Bala, getting involved in Bala’s case to help the family of the Prime Minister. That was when I became famous. I don’t like it. I’d like to be low profile.”
In the Harakan interview, Jaikishan compared his involvement in Balasubramaniam’s case to rescuing a drowning friend. “So I jumped into the pool to help a friend,” he said. I felt at that time, I was the only one (they) sought for help.” He quickly responded: “Najib’s family” when asked whom he meant by ‘theirs.’
Jaikisan’s motives are unclear, sources in Kuala Lumpur told Asia Sentinel. One of the articles made a veiled reference to a belief that he hadn’t been given proper thanks for his efforts. One well-wired businessman in Kuala Lumpur said Jaikishan was known to have become close to Muhyiddin Yassin, the Deputy Prime Minister and a putative rival for the premiership should Najib stumble.
“It’s an UMNO play”, the source said. “Deepak claims he is now very close to Muhyiddin. The timing of his solicited interviews – he called the news portals and offered himself – on the eve of the UMNO assembly suggests he wanted to embarrass Najib and Rosmah.”
Another lawyer close to the Mahathir wing of UMNO said that was nonsense, and that there was no trouble between the two. He pointed to the fact that the interviews had all been given to anti-government media as an indication that he was acting for Anwar’s coalition.
In any case, the repeated interviews, including one in which Jaikishan accused the head of the women’ wing of the party of having been involved in a massive land scam that benefited Najib and his family, are significantly damaging to the Prime Minister, who has been fighting rumors of involvement in the Altantuya affair for the entire six years since the 28-year-old woman was murdered and her body was blown up with C4 military explosives.
Yesterday in Singapore, Apoline Cagnat, a lawyer with the French human rights law firm headed by William Bourdon, said Najib and Abdul Razak Baginda are “priority witnesses” in the investigation into bribes and kickbacks totaling about €150 million in the sale of Scorpene submarines to the Malaysian Ministry of Defense — the initial €114 million routed through Razak Baginda’s wholly-owned company Perimekar Sdn. Bhd and a second €39 million routed through a Hong Kong-based paper company called Terasasi HK Ltd. which had no known business affairs and which was wholly owned by Razak Baginda and his father .
It is highly unlikely, however, that the French authorities probing the scandal would be able to persuade the head of a sovereign state, especially one who is suspected of helping to facilitate the transfer of kickbacks to UMNO to testify. It is also difficult to imagine what they would be willing to add to the dialogue about the case if indeed they were called to testify.
However, both the French investigation and the Jaikishan comments spell continuing trouble for Najib on the domestic political front, and within his political party. The ruling national coalition has been seeking the appropriate time to hold national elections for more than a year but has continued to put them off for a variety of reasons including a long string of scandals over cost overruns on a big port modernization at Port Klang, west of Kuala Lumpur, as well as the so-called Cattlegate scandal in which the family of the minister for women’s affairs allegedly looted a cattle-slaughtering scheme of tens of millions of ringgit for their personal use.
http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5006&Itemid=178
Din Merican: the Malaysian DJ Blogger 
Like Private Investigator Balasubramaniam, Deepak has no credibility. He is behaving like a jilted lover who has been dumped. Nothing will come out of it, in my view.–Din Merican
Deepak got a raw deal from the Najib clan. He’s also likely to have been bought over by DPM Muhyiddin Yassin gang – otherwise, he won’t have the guts to regale the readers with one episode of interview after another without having to worry that after the first interview is published, he would somewhat be forced to retract, etc, especially in the middle of the UMNO general assembly.
Deepak,
Contact me. I can arrange your resident visa to australia .
this is to destroy Najib so Mahathir’s clan can take over?
I dont think Mamakutty or the mydin fellow will use a third rate disgruntled wheeler dealer in the plot, unless i have overestimated their intelligence. Mamakuty fellow has snake like cunningness to get rid of Najib otherways..more effectively
MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission), what are you waiting for? A signed declaration from Najib or Rosmah that they received the bribe?
Will it be the same treatment like private eye P Balasubramaniam where cheques, property grant, signed declaration of the recipient that he received bribe were not evidence enough? Maybe the sum is too big than the invoice of RM2,400 which Teoh Beng Hock kept in his notebook for the MACC to handle.
Well.., seems that swearing on Holy Scripture, does not absolve anyone.
Since there is no ‘transparency’, my suggestion is to tie up this Deepak character with Jibs&Co in a gunny sack and dip them into the swollen Sg. Klang. Whoever survives a 10 min dunking will be certified ‘innocent’.
Whoever thinks this is ‘irrelevant’ haven’t watched enough soap operas. Emotive Perception is 2/3 of truth, as far as the female gender is concerned. Nothing like whispered gossip. Wanita UMNO is in no condition to help – what with Cow-Gate and other ‘significant’ commercial acquisitions being airily dismissed. Btw, this submarine thing is just one of the ballasts that help sink ships.
Whoever is behind Deepak, ain’t a Singh.
Next PM in waiting, is moving in fast. Hunger for power. There is a power grab in UMNO.
Fortunately, we do not have military coup for the matter, unlike our neighbours.
“Melody Fair” by the Bee Gees sounds better, no?
Looks like somebody’s problem is getting deepak and deepak….
____________
I think Deepak should be careful. Otherwise, Deepak will be Deepakted.–Din Merican
The thing about the details of the deal between Deepak and Ropiaah is that the deal turned sour AFTER Najib became PM..It goes a long way to show that NOTHING MUCH HAS CHANGED under Najib as far as UMNO/BN culture of corruption. In fact its gotten worst because people are double crossing each other over in desperation to make as much money as possible because THEY DO THINK IT WILL ALL END SOMEDAY with UMNO/BN out of office…
Raja Petra , Bala and now Deepak and also Musang ( the ex IGP ). Wonder when the Attorney General is going do his part and make his ” contribution ” !
Deepak sudah marah sama Najib dan Rosmah. He wants to make a deal which is unacceptable to Najib’s family. Selling carpets not enough for our anneh to maintain his lifestyle. Reeperbahn, Hamburg is his haunt.
Wander why PKR is getting involved with people like Deepak and Musa. Keep your diginity and watch from the sideline.
Why say PKR is involved, no proof, ma? It might be just a case of some-one been unknown all the while wanted to get some limelight. Maybe this is the better way to expedite other expose’ in turn?
A couple of things are obvious,
1) someone powerful is behind Deepak, and it has to be someone from UMNO.
2) Anwar couldn’t have been behind it, as he can’t provide the refuge Deepak needs, well, Anwar couldn’t even keep Bala insulated, and Deepak knows it too, so Deepak will not believe any promises Anwar or PKR/PR make to him. Taking on Najib and ROsmah, with Anwar/PKR/PR, on his side, will be disastrous for Deepak.
I speculate that Muhuyuuddin could be behind this, his pledge of loyalty to Najib at the UMNO AGM, is somewhat suspicious, and he went overboard to to convince everyone that he is on Naijb’s side, it is as if he is trying hard to convince all that he is a loyal deputy. Muhuyuddin isn’t that smart in developing strategies, he is too dumb, not capable of thinking long term, and surely not not intelligent enough to plan the downfall of Najib on his own.
It could also be Mahathir, as Mahathir is the master of deception, he could pat someone with one hand, and stab the same person with a dagger, on the other hand, and he would do this with not an ounce of guilt, regret or remorse. Mahathir has that killer instinct. Remember how Mahathir said on the 31st of August 1998, that Anwar WILL succeed him as PM, and sacked Anwar 2 days later, on the 2nd of Sept 1998.
It is possible, that, it is a collective effort by persons in UMNO, and it could the same group of people that Deepak was referring to, the same group that is in UMNO, that were going to reveal the truth behind the murder of Althantuya, who ordered the murder, etc. They failed the first time, with the production of the 2nd SD, and they are having a 2nd shot at it now.
The reasons are obvious too, Najib, and in particularly Rosmah, are too much of a liability to UMNO and BN. Najib can’t even command get the respect of division leaders. let alone the cabinet.
Nothing will come out of this, that is for sure, it is just a message to Najib, that is all this is about. No investigations will be held, no RC will be appointed, things will be as normal as they were before. UMNO’s official stand would still be, Najib is clean as a whistle as far as Althantuya’s murder is concerned. UMNO doesn’t want Najib out yet, otherwise Deepak and Musa would not have been chosen at all. They are merely messengers, that is all.
As a result of this expose, Najib will never be able to push for his candidates in the 13th GE, this expose will be used against him, and will be threatened with further exposes’, if he insists on his choice of candidates.
It is an accepted fact that BN will do badly in the coming election, and it will be silly to allow Najib’s candidates to stand for election, when Najib himself will not be the PM, after the election.
it is telling that that the Defence Minister Zahid to initially say that he will address this issue in his speech, but backed out of it at the speech itself, but instead sang praises of Najib, and one can only imagine the horse trading that would have taken place. Najib must have had to make some massive and huge concessions I am sure.
That Najib and Hishammuddin were both attacked just before the UMNO AGM, is another indication, that it is an UMNO orchestrated effort. It is incorrect to assume that the former IGP, is Pakatan friendly, he is UMNO friendly, but friendly to the ones’ in UMNO that want to send a message to Najib. Of course Deepak and Musa will use the opposition friendly portals, surely one would not expect them to go the the mainstream media, as none will play it up, as much as the opposition, can and will, and indeed have. The opposition media have been “used” by both Deepak and Musa, and after this group in UMNO has achieved it’s purpose, both Deepak and Musa will go into a silent mode.
it will be business as usual. as this group in UMNO would have obtained their all their concessions they needed from Najib.
This ladies and gentlemen, is how UMNO works.
EXCLUSIVE Private eye P Balasubramaniam has emerged from hiding to drop another bombshell http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICLyDHNbdes&feature=player_embedded