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Kuala Lumpur: A former aide to Malaysian deputy prime minister Najib Razak moved on Thursday to exonerate Najib's name in a case involving the murder of a Mongolian woman that dogged the country's next leader.
In his first comments since a court freed him late last month from the charge of abetting in the murder, Abdul Razak Baginda said Najib and his wife had never met the 28-year-old woman.
Altantuya Shaariibuu was shot in the head twice and her body blown up with explosives in a jungle outside the Malaysian capital in October 2006. Najib, who is due to take over as prime minister in March, has faced allegations of involvement.
"I implore all of you and the public to stop spreading lies about Najib and his wife," Razak told a news conference.
"I know that Najib and his wife had never met the deceased, Altantuya. So much fitnah (lies) has been thrown to the DPM and his wife," said Razak, who was remanded for 22 months in prison until his acquittal on October 31.
Najib too has denied as "total lies" reports in online media that either he or his wife Rosmah Mansor were involved in the killing of the Mongolian.
Razak, who was haggard and unshaven, said he would leave for Oxford University soon to complete his doctorate but insisted he was not running away from the country.
He said he considered himself lucky for avoiding the mandatory death sentence if he had been found guilty. "God gave me a better option than death," he said. "I'm innocent, why should I run away?"
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