BLOGGER'S LATEST EXPOSE: Several VIPs named in the pay-off to PI Bala
(NST) - BLOGGER Raja Petra Kamarudin's latest expose of his first meeting with private investigator P. Balasubramaniam has caused quite a stir in the cyberworld yesterday.
He has named several people in the latest expose, including Subang member of parliament and co-founder of Suara Rakyat Malaysia Sivarasa Rasiah and lawyer M. Puravalen. Raja Petra said he first met Balasubramaniam at Puravalen's house for a meeting regarding the Altantuya murder on July 2, 2008, after receiving a call from Sivarasa earlier on that day.
"And that was when I first met Puravalen, Bala (Balasubramaniam) and another ex-police officer. The day before that, on July 1, 2008, Bala had signed his statutory declaration, which was revealed on July 3, 2008 at the PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat) party headquarters during a press conference organised by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim," he said.
Raja Petra said in the presence of Puravalen and Sivarasa, Balasubramaniam and his ex-police officer friend boasted how they used to bump off criminals and got rid of their bodies.
"Azilah (Hadri), Sirul (Azahar) and we were all in the same team, they laughed. (Both Azilah, 33, and Sirul, 37, had been found guilty by the Shah Alam High Court for the murder of Altantunya).
"Hence, by Bala's own admission, Azilah, Sirul and the whole lot of them already had links from way back and did not meet for the first time in front of Abdul Razak Baginda's house the day Altantuya was murdered, as the impression Bala gave in his statutory declaration of July 1, 2008."
Raja Petra added that Puravalen, who was Razak's lawyer, were childhood friends and, according to the French National Police, Balasubramaniam was already involved in the submarine deal since back in 2000.
"This gives an impression of a very long association indeed. Puravalen is also closely linked to (Datuk Seri) Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan, the man who attracted a lot of controversy in the days when Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was prime minister."
After the meeting in Puravalen's house, Raja Petra said they adjourned for dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant to discuss the following day's press conference. He then said Sivarasa had arranged with Anwar for a Chinese tycoon to pay Bala RM20,000 per month.
"They also paid for Bala's house in Chennai, India, paid for his car and life insurance, plus for his children's education in an exclusive international school in Chennai. When the Chinese tycoon discovered that Bala was playing a double game, he stopped the payments to Bala and this made him quite desperate."
When contacted, Sivarasa said he would issue a written statement once he had read Raja Petra's latest posting. At press time, Puravalen and Kalimullah could not be reached for comments.
