The Home Ministry has no chance of extraditing Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown when it has consistently failed to get wanted Malaysians who have fled out of country, including a convicted murderer, Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng says.

Lim said those involved in least four high profile cases were now abroad - sex blogger Alvin Tan, Facebook activist Ali Abdul Jalil, Malaysia Today website owner Raja Petra Kamaruddin and former policeman Sirul Azhar Umar, who was convicted for murdering Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu.

"I don't think the home minister has any chance to get Clare Rewcastle-Brown if the government cannot get those Malaysians back.

"Their cases took place in Malaysia and then they ran away to another country.

"Until now we have failed to repatriate or extradite them back to Malaysia. So now, our home minister is talking about getting Rewcastle-Brown, a British citizen, from her own country.

"This is a big bluff, a ' syok sendiri ' bluff. Our officials like this kind of 'syok sendiri' bluff," Lim ( photo ) told Malaysiakini yesterday.

He said he had in March asked Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in Parliament about the status of the four Malaysians, who are believed to be in United States, Sweden, United Kingdom and Australia respectively.

The response from Zahid then, Lim said, was that “the process is complicated and must be handled delicately".

Urgency to meet Justo?

Yesterday, Zahid said if the police investigation on Rewcastle-Brown finds “criminal elements”, action would be taken, including calling for her extradition to Malaysia.

   

"If there are criminal elements committed by Rewcastle -Brown, there is already bilateral exchange of intelligence between Malaysia and Britain.

"Depending on the results of the police investigation, the ministry, through Wisma Putra, will deal with the British government if there is a prima facie case for legal action against Rewcastle-Brown," Zahid said in a statement.

Lim, who is also a lawyer, said there was absolutely no legal basis for Rewcastle-Brown to be extradited as she has not been charged with any offence or proven to be involved in any criminal activity.

"No, nothing, not a single piece of evidence and not an ounce of proof (to implicate Rewcastle-Brown)," he said.

The MP added in a statement this morning that it is clear the police are not acting impartially in handling Justo and the other wanted Malaysians.

“Inspector-general of police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar on his own account flew to Bangkok without being ordered, to try his luck at questioning Justo based on a rumour, and his request was rejected (by the Thais) twice."

 

He said in contrast, the convicted felon did not receive such urgent attention.

 

“Khalid and the government did not do anything at all to go and meet Sirul in Perth,” he said.

 

“Doesn’t this show Khalid as being biased?” asked the MP.

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