I fear for my life, says private eye Bala
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EXCLUSIVE Despite
being able to visit Malaysia periodically since fleeing the country
four years ago, private investigator P Balasubramaniam still fears for
his life.
The former police officer told Malaysiakini in an interview last month, "I can come back, but come back (for visits) only. I am not safe here... Here in Malaysia, I am not safe. So many things can happen, accidents can happen...".
While Balasubramaniam did not name the people he feared, he said they were those in power who could commit abuses with impunity, adding that they could do so because the power was with them - hence they could do whatever they wanted and we couldn't fight (them).
However, he is glad that his wife and three children are now safe in India, saying, "My family is okay. They are outside (the country)."
Asked why he had come back to Kuala Lumpur and gave an interview to Malaysiakini despite his fears, he said he wanted to set things right after his earlier misadventures and he just wanted to tell Malaysians that because the country's 13th general election was near and we had to change (the government)."
He stressed that his intention was to tell the truth as he felt ashamed by his second statutory declaration (SD) - made scarcely 24 hours after his first one in which he claimed his earlier sworn statement was made under duress and said, "I have been wanting to tell the truth, but I kept quiet (until now) because I wanted to save my family. Once my family is safe, they can do anything to me. Let them. My family is more important."
The former police officer told Malaysiakini in an interview last month, "I can come back, but come back (for visits) only. I am not safe here... Here in Malaysia, I am not safe. So many things can happen, accidents can happen...".
While Balasubramaniam did not name the people he feared, he said they were those in power who could commit abuses with impunity, adding that they could do so because the power was with them - hence they could do whatever they wanted and we couldn't fight (them).However, he is glad that his wife and three children are now safe in India, saying, "My family is okay. They are outside (the country)."
Asked why he had come back to Kuala Lumpur and gave an interview to Malaysiakini despite his fears, he said he wanted to set things right after his earlier misadventures and he just wanted to tell Malaysians that because the country's 13th general election was near and we had to change (the government)."
He stressed that his intention was to tell the truth as he felt ashamed by his second statutory declaration (SD) - made scarcely 24 hours after his first one in which he claimed his earlier sworn statement was made under duress and said, "I have been wanting to tell the truth, but I kept quiet (until now) because I wanted to save my family. Once my family is safe, they can do anything to me. Let them. My family is more important."
Money was secondary
He explained that while any normal person, himself included, would be
tempted by the RM5 million offered to him to sign the second SD, he
explained that monetary considerations were not what influenced him to
do what he did, saying, "The thing is not money, the thing is the fear they put (into me)."
Balasubramaniam claimed that businessman Deepak Jaikishan (right) and a police officer called Suresh strong-armed him into signing the second SD on July 2, 2008 by threatening his family and recalled that when he was confronted by Deepak and Suresh, who asked
him to renounce the first SD - the first SD linked then deputy prime minister Najib Abdul Razak to slain Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu - which he revealed at a press conference
that day, he received a call from his wife about two men in a car
stationed in front of their Rawang home.
According to Balasubramaniam, Deepak then told him that the men were military intelligence officers and that they would leave the house as soon as the private investigator did what they wanted.
Later that day, when Balasubramaniam was taken to meet a ‘datuk', who the private eye claimed was Najib's younger brother Nazim, that person had also asked him to do as Deepak demanded - it was this implied threat against his family that Balasubramaniam said drove him to sign the second SD and flee the country.
Balasubramaniam said that now he was determined to come clean to redeem himself in the eyes of the Malaysian public.
Balasubramaniam claimed that businessman Deepak Jaikishan (right) and a police officer called Suresh strong-armed him into signing the second SD on July 2, 2008 by threatening his family and recalled that when he was confronted by Deepak and Suresh, who asked
him to renounce the first SD - the first SD linked then deputy prime minister Najib Abdul Razak to slain Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu - which he revealed at a press conference
that day, he received a call from his wife about two men in a car
stationed in front of their Rawang home.According to Balasubramaniam, Deepak then told him that the men were military intelligence officers and that they would leave the house as soon as the private investigator did what they wanted.
Later that day, when Balasubramaniam was taken to meet a ‘datuk', who the private eye claimed was Najib's younger brother Nazim, that person had also asked him to do as Deepak demanded - it was this implied threat against his family that Balasubramaniam said drove him to sign the second SD and flee the country.
Balasubramaniam said that now he was determined to come clean to redeem himself in the eyes of the Malaysian public.
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