thesun 2008-11-21 page01 truth lies and blogs

by Maria J. Dassnewsdesk@thesundaily.com

KUALA LUMPUR: Three weeks afterhis acquittal of abetment to murder of his former Mongolian lover, politicalanalyst Abdul Razak Baginda yesterday

broke his silence, accusing bloggers of turning lies and assumptions into truth tothe extent that the truth becomes irrelevant.

“I was shocked at the extent my case hadbeen wildly exaggerated and that throughout my two years of imprisonment, lies andbaseless assumptions had become the basisfor truth, so much so the truth had becomeirrelevant and was lost in translation,” hetold a packed press conference at HotelMaya.

“While some have toldme to say nothing, I

feel (that) if I donot be brave

and try toturn thetide inorder totell thetruth, Iwill bemerelyturninga blindeye and

allowthe

liars toprevail.”

He saidafter his

release on Oct 31, he gave a

statement to thepolice regarding

private investigatorP. Balasubra-

maniam’s first statutory

declarationwhichimplicatedDeputyPrimeMinisterDatukSeri

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 Truth, lies & blogs

Najib Abdul Razak. The investigator, whomhe had hired to keep an eye on AltantuyaShaariibuu and who has gone into hiding,withdrew his allegations in a secondstatutory declaration the next day.

Said Abdul Razak, 48: “I told them what Itold you all today, that Najib did not know orhad met the deceased (Altantuya).

“I implore all of you and the public tostop spreading lies about Datuk Seri Najiband his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor as Iknow they have never met Altantuya.”

Saying that he had not been in contact with Najib since his release, Abdul Razakdescribed his relationship with the DPMas an official one and that he (Najib) was afriend.

Asked about what he thought of Najibbecoming prime minister, he said: “He(Najib) is a well-read person and well intune with what is going on in the world, andin terms of intellect and experience, he willmake a good prime minister.”

Asked if he would continue to renderhis services as a political analyst to Najibwhen the latter becomes premier, AbdulRazak, who is executive director of theMalaysian Strategic Research Centre, said:“I’m quite happy with my freedom at themoment and don’t want to be tied up withany appointment whatsoever ... not that it’scoming.”

Sporting a moustache and beard, he wasaccompanied by two lawyers, his father andseveral family members. However, his wife

and daughter were absent. Abdul Razak alsotouched on:

» Blogs“People should start questioning the validityof the information they receive, especiallyfrom blogs. We are supposed to be aknowledge-based society and a thinkingpeople but now one or two bloggers form anopinion, and that becomes public opinion.

“Bloggers could even be used as tools byenemies of the state to erode confidence.Then we are talking about something moresinister.

“Most bloggers write based on hearsayand not based on what they themselveshave seen or heard. This is just a phase that developed countries had gone through onceand after some time the opinion of bloggerswill have little effect.

“I expect my statement to be twistedas well. But this is the truth and if anyonewants to twist and turn, then all I can sayis that I have said my piece and to me thisis the truth.” Quoting Shakespeare, he said:“A lie is halfway round the world before thetruth has got its boots on.”

» Link between the murder and theScorpene and Agosta submarine deal“There are no linkages to this whatsoever.I’m appalled by the extent of lies, but thetime frame between the striking of the deal

Abdul Razak meets the press ... ‘I implore the public ... stop spreading lies about Najib and wife’

» Turn to Page 2

Shahrizat goingfor Wanitatop postby Karen Arukesamynewsdesk@thesundaily.com

PETALING JAYA: WanitaUmno deputy chief DatukSeri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil (pix)will contest the No. 1 post,breaking an earlier pact withher “boss” Tan Sri RafidahAziz for a June handover.

The 55-year-old lawyer announcedher much-anticipated decision in a two-paragraph statement yesterday, indicatingthat she had decided to ride on the 73nominations for her to take over the post.Rafidah received 117 nominations.

“Wanita Umno must be united tostrengthen the party and be courageous tobring changes and reformation,” she said.

When contacted, her aide said Shahri-zat will be away for the next few days fora meeting and was not available to givefurther comments.

With her decision, Shahrizat – who wasearlier criticised for being a penakut (coward)– is set for a bruising battle with Rafidah atthe March party polls, one that would be arepeat of the 1996 elections when Datuk DrSiti Zaharah Sulaiman beat the seemingly-invincible “Iron Lady”, and was chief for onlyone term.

Rafidah, 65, became Wanita chief in 1984.Her transition plan has increasingly beencriticised by sections of the grassroots whofelt that it was unnecessary for her to beuncontested, only to hold the post for threemonths before handing it to Shahrizat, whowill thereafter be acting chief.

On Nov 10, the wing’s executive councilmet, a day after Shahrizat issued a state-ment calling for the leadership transition tobe brought forward to March, in keeping withthe grassroots’ wishes. Rafidah later said theexco decided the original plan remained.