There have been calls for the case of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu’s murder to re-opened, in light of Pakatan Harapan toppling BN to form the government.  

However, former Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram forecasted that this was “highly unlikely” in view of the significant legal mechanisms involved.

“The only ground upon which a verdict of a court may be set aside is if that verdict had been obtained by fraud upon the court, or based upon some new evidence.  

“There is no legislation (in Malaysia), unlike in the UK, for the Home Minister to refer a case to the Court of Appeal to review the case with a view to quashing a conviction.

“Since this is a criminal case, it would require the Attorney-General to inform the court that the prosecution intentionally derailed the case to enable Abdul Razak Baginda to escape.  

“You can imagine that this will not happen, or is highly unlikely to happen,” Gopal told Malaysiakini when contacted today.

Mongolian president Khaltmaagiin Battulga previously urged newly appointed Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to help the family of Altantuya seek justice.

In 2009, two former police commandos, Sirul Azhar Umar and his accomplice Azilah Hadri, were convicted and sentenced to death for murdering Altantuya three years prior.

No motive was established by the courts.

The sentence was later upheld by the Federal Court in 2015 after the Court of Appeal overturned it.

Both police officers were attached to then deputy prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's security detail at the time of the murder. Najib went on to become prime minister but was ousted on May 9 this year.

Ramkarpal: Police can re-open probe 

Meanwhile, lawyer and DAP lawmaker Ramkarpal Singh was positive that the police were able to re-open investigations into the case without the need for additional police reports.

“The police themselves can do so to reopen investigations if (Inspector General of Police) Mohamad Fuzi Harun feels this is necessary.

“There is no need for a new police report to be lodged, as it is very likely that the person who ordered the murder of Altantuya is already known to the police from the earlier investigations into the said murder, as this is too crucial an aspect to have been missed out in the said investigations.

“It defies logic for investigators to have only asked who killed her, without asking why in their said investigations,” he said in a separate statement today.

Fuzi said today that investigations into the murder could only be re-opened in the presence of new leads.

Ramkarpal reiterated his call for the case to either be re-opened, or be subject to a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI).

“In the circumstances, I strongly urge Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Fuzi to reopen investigations into the Altantuya murder urgently, or that a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) be convened to determine the motive,” he added.

The Bukit Gelugor MP also said that Altantuya’s father Setev Shaariibuu had, in a letter to him, asked for justice against the people who had ordered his daughter's murder.

Ramkarpal’s late father Karpal Singh had acted for the Shaariibuu family.