Private investigator P Balasubramaniam’s sudden retraction of his allegations against Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak may have been due to intimidation or inducement, claimed PKR vice-president R Sivarasa.

pkr pc on lingam tape 041007 sivarasa "It is an obvious inference to make, by studying the two statements side by side," he told a press conference at the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya today.

On July 1, Balasubramaniam had affirmed a sworn statement implicating Najib in the murder of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu.

In a shock move this morning, Balasubramaniam made a new statutory declaration to retract the earlier allegations and claimed that his first statement was made "under duress."

Balasubramaniam also specifically retracted paragraphs referring to Najib in his new statutory declaration.

Sivarasa said the nature of how the second declaration came to being has raised suspicion on its content.

"The fact that the retraction was done so speedily and in circumstances where Mr Bala says it was made ‘under duress’, but will not name who pressured him, speaks for itself," he said.

'It's a crime'

Sivarasa, who is a practising lawyer, said that it was a crime for anyone to ‘intimidate or induce’ Balasubramaniam to retract the contents of his first declaration.

"Ultimately, the crime is manipulating or suppressing evidence related to a murder trial involving people who run this country," he added.

Similarly, lawyer Americk Singh Sidhu. who helped Balasubramaniam prepare his July 1 statutory declaration, expressed surprise that his former client would deny his earlier statement.

"I am familiar with the character of Mr Bala, having spent hours with him recording his statement. I am very skeptical that he has signed the second statutory declaration of his own free will and I am convinced he has been intimidated to do so by either threats or promises, as I can think of no other reason," he said.

Sivarasa reiterated PKR’s position that a royal commission must be established to probe Balasubramaniam’s allegations against Najib.

He also called on the prosecution in the ongoing Altantuya murder trial to investigate Balasubramaniam’s allegations.