Altantuya's father Setev left speechless

The picture says it all: Bewildered and dejected, Setev Shariibuu looks a broken man after the verdict this morning Someone asked, “Do you believed that justice still exists in our country?” Setev shook his head as his interpreter replied, “In my country, there is this law.. Justice!… and he (pointing at Setev) doesn’t want to criticise the judge’s decision because he hopes this decision was taken in line with  Malaysian law… because it’s an area where the lawyer and the judge are independent of the Government…” The interpreter was interrupted by Setev, who took out his passport issued by the Mongolian government, saying he is a citizen of Mongolia, which “protects its citizens”.

 

One of the larger issues that arises in the face of the global economic slowdown and recession is that the foreign investor-driven, export-oriented economic growth model is clearly not working, especially in times like this when global demand has shrunk. With global stagflation or recession staring at us, capacity is rising and the trickle of foreign investors is drying up. We should be focusing more on building up a strong, resilient, sustainable domestic economy by providing basic services (housing, health care, food security, public transport, education) rather than relying on foreign investors and now, foreign retirees. But getting federal funding for such essential services is a problem in the Pakatan-run states and I can sympathise with the Penang state government, which is searching high and low for investors to stave off the effects of job losses. All the same, hunting for foreign investors is at best a short-term solution that [Read more]

 

Abdul Razak Baginda has been freed by the High Court this morning. He had been charged with abetting in the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shariibuu. Two others, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, have been called to enter their defence.