COMMENT It would be interesting to see if former Special Action Force (UTK) officer Azilah Hadri will be granted a royal pardon , after being convicted for the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Azilah is currently on death row after his death sentence was upheld by the Federal Court, while his accomplice Sirul Azhar is now being detained in an Australian immigration centre.

Murder is a very serious crime in any country and in Malaysia, capital punishment awaits Azilah, and if his appeal for clemency fails, he would have to face the hangman soon.

Although many of us may not agree with capital punishment, the world is waiting to see how Malaysia handles a murder case like this, in contrast to its treatment towards former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who was said to have sodomised a young man.

In fact, as Queen’s Counsel Mark Trowell and other brilliant legal minds put it, Anwar is a “prisoner of conscience” and deserves to be released. A number of world leaders who expressed concern over Anwar’s case will be monitoring both our judiciary as well as the government of the day.

Anwar’s appeal for clemency to the Agong was turned down. Would Azilah’s case therefore be accepted for clemency? Justice must be seen to be done.

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In all fairness, Azilah deserves to be pardoned, if he was, in fact, being used as the ‘instrument’ to carry out the brutal murder which shocked the world.

The mysterious death, linked to the controversial purchase of the Scorpene submarines, has damaged Malaysia’s good reputation, especially in Mongolia, the country of origin of Altantuya herself. Altantuya was supposed to be the interpreter.

The then-defence minister and deputy prime minister, Najib Abdul Razak, and analyst Abdul Razak Baginda have allegedly been implicated, but the investigation did not delve into the motive behind the murder, despite efforts to raise the subject on a number of occasions. During the trial, Razak Baginda was acquitted, and has since disappeared from public life.

This leads to the question who was truly behind the murder itself. It will take someone like Agatha Christie or Sherlock Holmes to eventually dig out the truth. Meanwhile, PI Bala’s first statutory declaration (SD) has never been produced in court as evidence; and a second statutory declaration was made just before his disappearance.

Bala had since returned to Malaysia and claimed his first SD held the truth, but he subsequently died of a heart attack. Now, one of the convicted murderers wants to apply for clemency from the sultan of Selangor.

Most of us would agree that the royal pardon is well within the jurisdiction of the sultan, and we have to respect His Royal Highnesses’ power to pardon any crime, but one cannot help but to ask, “What about a “private” crime like sodomy involving the country’s former opposition leader, where the circumstances and evidences produced in court were questionable at least to the most brilliant legal minds from around the world?”

If Azilah receives his pardon and word spreads around the world, would ordinary people who do not know the circumstances ask, “Why a murderer gets away with a royal pardon, while the country’s own former opposition leader is left languishing in prison at the age of 68?”

Clemency for Anwar

Justice must be seen to be done. Anwar’s application for clemency should also be given special consideration by the Agong, since he represents the majority of Malaysians who voted for the opposition during the last general election.

If the sultan of Selangor shows compassion towards a convicted murderer, would the Agong also pardon Anwar and allow him freedom to return to the political arena where he plays an important role in the history of this nation?

In fact, the online petition which was made to the White House and US President Barack Obama represents the sentiments of the people towards Anwar which the Agong has to grasp. If the pardon had been granted, there would have been no reason for Malaysians to appeal to a foreign power for Anwar’s freedom.

I join my fellow Malaysians in urging the Agong to show compassion towards Anwar, a fellow human being who is suffering from poor health while in Sungai Buloh prison. He is a prisoner of conscience, like many others such as Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.