NAJIB UNDER PRESSURE, AGAIN ...

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 - He is behind bars but Raja Petra Kamarudin's campaign to link Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak with the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shariibuu intensified today – with a startling allegation.

His website, Malaysia Today, carried a report detailing what it alleged was an exchange of text messages between Najib and Shafee Abdullah, the prominent lawyer who represented Abdul Razak Baginda before he was charged with abetting two police officers in the murder of the model.

These SMSes – if true – raise some questions over the handling of the case and suggest that Najib took a strong interest in the investigation from the beginning.

The SMS exchange, which went on from Nov 8 to Dec 2, 2006, is likely to become great fodder for the Opposition when Parliament sits again on Monday. More so now that Najib is a cusp away from becoming the president of Umno and the prime minister of Malaysia.

In one SMS, Najib allegedly tells the lawyer that Razak Baginda – his advisor – “will face a tentative charge but all is not lost.”'

Malaysia Today said that this message raises some questions about Najib's role in the case. “Why did he mention ‘tentative’ charge and that ‘all is not lost’ for RB (Razak Baginda)? How would Najib know this before Razak was charged? These are important questions which will have ramifications, not just on this case but far beyond,” a posting on the website said.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the Opposition have tried to link Najib and his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, with the murder since it happened in October 2006.

Najib has furiously denied any involvement with the case, and has even sworn in a mosque that he did not know the woman. His wife has also sought recourse in the courts to clear her name.

Their nemesis has been Raja Petra. He published many reports and commentaries alleging a cover-up in the investigation of the murder. He was detained under the Internal Security Act for allegedly publishingarticles which were blasphemous. - TMI