PKR leader Tian Chua today said he would not apologise or remove from the Internet a fake photograph depicting the deputy prime minister with a murdered Mongolian woman.

Chua, the information chief with the opposition party, admitted the photo had been doctored.

It depicts Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, in a red tie, with the murdered Altantuya Shaariibuu, 28, and her former Malaysian lover Abdul Razak Baginda, a well-connected Malaysian political analyst.

"This photo is just my imagination. It is aimed to push Najib to explain his link in the case. I will not withdraw the photo or apologise," Chua told AFP.

Najib is close to Abdul Razak, 47, who is on trial on charges of abetting Altantuya's murder in October last year.

The deputy prime minister has vehemently denied any involvement in the case, which is seen by observers as a test of Malaysia's judicial and political integrity.

Chua vowed to continue his "Internet attack" on Najib who, as the deputy president of the ruling Umno, is the prime minister-in-waiting.

"I want the authorities to handle the case in a transparent way and for Najib to reveal his relations with Altantuya," he said.

Anger in Umno

The photograph was posted on his Internet blog on July 2, three days after Burmaa Oyunchimeg, the victim's cousin, testified she had seen a picture of Altantuya having a meal with Abdul Razak and a "Malaysian government official" as well as others.

Burmaa did not identify the official as the deputy prime minister but said Altantuya told her his name was "Najib Razak."

Following her testimony, Najib's press secretary said it would be inappropriate for the deputy prime minister to comment while the trial is in progress. He reiterated that Najib had never met the victim.

Umno leaders have hit out against Chua.

"We cannot allow such tactics to continue. We will fight this to the end ...," Umno's youth chief, Hishammuddin Hussein, was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times newspaper on Monday.

Prosecutors say Abdul Razak planned Altantuya's killing and ordered two police officers - members of a special unit charged with protecting the prime minister and his deputy - to carry it out.

All three face the death penalty if found guilty.

Prosecutors say Altantuya was killed by "probable blast-related" injuries in a clearing in Shah Alam district, southwest of Kuala Lumpur, after she was driven away from outside Abdul Razak's house in mid-October.

The attorney-general has vowed "everything will be disclosed" at the trial, which is continuing at a court in Shah Alam.