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Malaysian detective retracts claim

A private detective yesterday withdrew a sworn statement suggesting Malaysia’s deputy prime minister had sex with a slain Mongolian woman, saying he made the claim under duress.

The stunning reversal by Balasubramaniam Perumal — less than 24 hours after he dropped the political bombshell — added confusion to a bizarre political drama that has played out in Malaysia since the March 8 general elections.

Balasubramaniam made the allegation in a sworn declaration on Thursday, flanked by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

He said he was told that Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak had sex with Altantuya Shaariibuu, a 28-year-old Mongolian translator who was shot and killed on Oct. 19, 2006.

Shaariibuu’s body was blown up with explosives in a forest outside Kuala Lumpur.

Najib and Anwar are vying to be the nation’s next prime minister and have traded accusations in their attempts to destroy the other’s political career.

Anwar has been accused of sodomizing his male aide. Both men have denied the allegations.

Anwar did not immediately comment on the detective’s volte-face.

“I wish to retract all the statements that I have made [because they] are inaccurate and not the truth. I was compelled to affirm the ... declaration under duress,” Balasubramaniam told a hastily gathered news conference.

He refused to answer questions.

The private detective said the source of the information had been Abdul Razak Baginda, who is on trial for abetting the woman’s murder.

Abdul Razak, a prominent political analyst, said he had a short-lived affair with Shaariibuu and that she began harassing him for money. He hired a detective to keep her away.

Two policemen are on trial alongside Abdul Razak on murder charges.

On Thursday, Najib denied he knew Shaariibuu and dismissed Balasubramaniam’s original declaration “as a terrible lie, a malicious fabrication that is defamatory and aimed at tarnishing my image.”
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