Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has been asked to explain the claim made in a court testimonial today that he had been photographed with murdered Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim said it was all the more compelling for the deputy premier to explain since he had previously denied having met her.

"Before, Najib had said he does not know her. But there's a (alleged) photograph. He has to explain," he told a press conference in Petaling Jaya today.

Anwar was responding to the revelation made this morning by witness Burmaa Oyunchimeg who told the Shah Alam High Court that Altantuya showed her the photo after returning from a trip to France.

Burmaa said she had seen a picture of Altantuya having a meal with one of three defendants in the murder case, political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, together with "a government official."

Responding to a question from lawyer Karpal Singh, who was holding a watching brief for the deceased's family, Burmaa identified the official in the photograph as "Najib Razak."

This only happened after protests from the prosecution and a verbal exchange as to the necessity of revealing that detail.

Protecting VVIPs

Criticising the prosecution team for this, Anwar said it was an apparent attempt to protect VVIPs and displayed a lack of professionalism and transparency.

"The entire conduct of the entire prosecution (was) not meant to seek and find the truth, to catch the culprits who perpetrated the crime, but at all stages, to protect VVIPs from being implicated in any way," he added.

Anwar also demanded the authorities to own up to the allegation that Altantuya and her companions' entry into Malaysia were deleted from immigration records.

Uuriintuya Gal-Ochir, 30, a friend of Altantuya, testified earlier this week that she had come to Malaysia with the deceased in October along with Altantuya's second cousin Namiraa Gerelmaa.

While Namiraa returned home earlier without a hitch, Uuriintuya encountered problems when she tried to leave Malaysia with Altantuya's father on Nov 24 - more than a month after the murder - as there was no record of their entering the country

"This is sickening, this is pathetic, to say the least," stressed Anwar.

"You cannot have a low-level (immigration) officer having the authority to obliterate records at the immigration office. We want to know. Malaysians have a right to know," he added.

Eric Chia's trial a 'PR exercise'

On another matter, Anwar said the prosecution's approach that led to the acquittal of tycoon Eric Chia showed the government's lack of seriousness to crack down on corruption.

The former managing director of national steel company Perwaja was acquitted of embezzling RM76.4 million Tuesday after a sessions court ruled that the prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case.

Anwar said the government had concentrated on only one aspect of the Perwaja fiasco - which led to at least RM10 billion in losses - while it ignored other pertinent aspects.

He said this includes evidence - based on audit reports by Price WaterhouseCoopers - of Perwaja's non-compliance with Finance Ministry procedures and regulations, its purchase at an exorbitant price of materials, and payment of exorbitant and unsubstantiated fees to a legal firm.

"In the prosecution, all these things were set aside... and completely ignored," said Anwar, who filed reports on the matter with the police and the Anti-Corruption Agency in 1999.

He also claimed that the arrest and charging of Chia - who was the first prominent person to be charged with corruption since Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi assumed office - was merely a public relations exercise for the 2004 general elections.

"This raises suspicions of the prime minister to battle corruption in the country ... It shows they are not serious in the first place," he said.

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