alaysia Today founder and editor Raja Petra Kamaruddin says he was not responsible for accusations linking Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor to the murder of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu.
He said he himself doubted the accusations when he made a statutory declaration (SD) on June 18, 2008, in which he had stated that he received information from several individuals claiming Rosmah was at the scene where Altantuya was murdered.
He claimed that several politicians close to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had put pressure on him to do what he did to prevent Najib from becoming Prime Minister.
In a sensational interview aired over TV3 Wednesday night, he said he no longer believed the story of these individuals.
"I no longer accept the story. I think it's quite impossible. It can't be that the Prime Minister's wife would want to go to such place; it's a jungle. I'm imagining, climbing up the hill, going into the jungle at night, at 12 midnight, I think it's quite impossible," he said in an exclusive interview with TV3 Group Editor Datuk Ashraf Abdullah in Perth, Australia, recently.
The interview was aired on TV3's primetime news, Buletin Utama.
"In my SD, I said that these people had told (me) and for these people to come forward and tell their stories, and for the authority to investigate and call these people.
"That is what I've written in the SD. I've never raised any accusation. I didn't say I knew that the Prime Minister's wife was at the scene at that time," he said.
"I did not make such accusation. All I said was that there were people telling stories but it's up to the authorities to investigate the matter further, and for these people to come forward.
"And I've mentioned the names of these people. I mentioned their names during the police investigation," he said, claiming the three were Nik Azmi Nik Daud, John Pang and blogger Din Merican.
He alleged that a military intelligence officer known as Colonel Azmi Zainal Abidin had also given similar information. Raja Petra claimed these individuals had promised to become witnesses if he was charged in court.
The second part of the interview will be aired Thursday night.
