SERCO, Borderforce, Pelluzzo and the chinless wonder Dutton -contradicted by Sirul Azhar's mother Piah Samat

by Ganesh Sahathevan

SERCO, Borderforce and its cheif Michael Pelluzzo and the chinless wonder Peter Dutton have insisted since
November last year that Villawood detainee Sirul Azhar is being managed to the highest standard of security and intelligence: As reported in The Australian , 3 November 2015:

In March (2015) , a delegation comprising Umar’s mother, sister and at least one Malaysian opposition MP visited the former policeman inside Villawood detention centre.The visit was approved by Serco, the contractors responsible for running Australia’s detention centres.The centre was at the time under the control of the Immigration Department.Border Force officials found out about the visit after the fact and are understood to have become highly alarmed amid concerns Umar may be vulnerable to intimidation or coercion.


However, Sirul's mother was happy for her son to remain in Australia :


He makes a cup of black tea for myself and his mother, Piah Samat, who is all of five foot tall, 74, and has only ever left her village in rural Malaysia a couple of times before.

The tea is bitter – like Sirul, who believes he has become a pawn in a ruthless political game. "He could never have done this himself," his mother says.

She says in his younger days, her son liked nasi lemak and playing soccer. He was the envy of the entire kampung (village) when he was selected for Malaysia's elite special forces. "But I am glad that he is safe here," she says. "He is honourable, it is his commando code of silence that has kept him from saying anything before".


Regardless, Border Force , Dutton and SERCO will not , like the Titanic, be deterred from meeting the iceberg, and now make this claim in The Australian, clearly a lie:


Senior Australian Border Force ­officials are personally vetting all visitors to a former bodyguard to Malay­sia’s political elite at Sydney’s Villawood Immigration ­Detention Centre, amid concerns for his safety.

The Australian understands Sirul Azhar Umar is being held alone in a double room and Canberra officials, rather than centre manager Serco, are vetting his visitors — subjecting them to full ­security screenings and running names through the government’s extensive intelligence holdings.

The extraordinary measures come amid fears Sirul — who has applied for a protection visa — could be subjected to harm or threats from Malaysia’s Special Branch intelligence agency.

( see
No chances taken with Malaysian detainee Sirul Azhar Umar)


END

Malaysia visit fires fears for detainee Sirul Azhar Umar

• THE AUSTRALIAN
• NOVEMBER 3, 2015 12:00AM
• SAVE
• PRINT

• Paul Maley

  

  National Security correspondent

  Sydney

  https://plus.google.com/114281934612203133760

Sirul Azhar Umar has been held inside Sydney’s Villawood detention centre since January.

A visit from a delegation of Mal­aysian political figures has prompted a security crackdown on one of the country’s most well-known detainees, Sirul Azhar Umar, amid fears the former bodyguard to Malaysia’s political elite was being pressured to return home to face the death penalty.

The Australian understands the Australian Border Force, which is responsible for security inside detention centres, has ­determined that Umar is a high-risk detainee because of his ­involvement in what on some ­accounts is a murderous conspiracy among ­Malaysia’s top politicians and ­officials.

Additional security measures have been put in place around Umar, who was convicted of the 2006 murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, reportedly the lover of Abdul Razak Baginda, a top aide to Malaysia’s then-defence minister Najib Razak, now the Prime Minister.

Umar has been held inside Sydney’s Villawood detention centre since January after he was picked up by Australian police acting on an Interpol arrest warrant issued by Malaysia.

• MORE:India plea to help nail jihadist

His detention has created a conundrum for the Australian government, which will not deport foreign nationals who face the death penalty, raising the prospect of indefinite detention for Umar.

His case has since become one of the most intriguing tales to emerge from the murky world of Malaysian politics.

In 2009, the former commando was convicted of the murder of 28-year-old Shaari­ibuu, who worked as a translator on a billion-dollar defence deal, brokered by Mr Baginda.

At the time of the murder, Umar was working as a bodyguard to Mr Najib, Malaysia’s defence minister and deputy prime minister. Mr Najib denies any wrongdoing, or even ever meeting Shaariibuu.

Umar and his partner, Azilah Hadri, were members of the Royal Malaysian Police’s Special Action Squad, an elite unite within the Malaysian security services responsible for counter-terrorism. The two men, who were assigned to Mr Najib’s protection detail, are alleged to have shot and killed Shaariibuu before blowing up her body with C4, a military-grade explosive. Their guilty verdict was overturned in 2013 before being reinstated following an appeal by the prosecution. Umar left Malaysia for Australia on a tourist visa after the guilty verdict was overturned, and was still here when it was reinstated.

He was picked up early this year and has remained in immigration detention.

Shaariibuu was reportedly the mistress of Mr Baginda, who was initially charged with abetting the murder before the charges were dropped.

There has been speculation Shaariibuu was killed over her knowledge of corrupt payments made to senior Malaysian politicians and their staff surrounding the 2003 purchase of French submarines and Sukhoi aircraft.

It has been reported that Shaariibuu was effectively blackmailing Mr Baginda, demanding hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for her silence.

Malaysia’s former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has called for a full investigation, saying a policeman “does not kill people unless they are given the orders to do so’’. In March, a delegation comprising Umar’s mother, sister and at least one Malaysian opposition MP visited the former policeman inside Villawood detention centre.

The visit was approved by Serco, the contractors responsible for running Australia’s detention centres.

The centre was at the time under the control of the Immigration Department.

Border Force officials found out about the visit after the fact and are understood to have become highly alarmed amid concerns Umar may be vulnerable to intimidation or coercion.

Officials don’t know the precise reason of the March visit, however they are concerned its purpose was to encourage Umar to return to Malaysia where he faces death by hanging.

There are fears that Umar or members of his family could be subject to intimidation, threats or even physical harm if access to him is not controlled.