Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews) – Twenty years after the murder of the Mongolian citizen Altantuya Shaariibuu, the case continues to weigh heavily on Malaysian politics. This time, it is not only the victim’s family demanding answers, but also the government in Ulan Bator, which has decided to intervene through diplomatic channels to seek further clarification on the case and answers regarding the outstanding legal issues.
The Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs submitted a diplomatic note to the Malaysian authorities on 10 November, handing it to the country’s ambassadors in Bangkok and Beijing. This was reported by Zandanshatar Gombojav, a former prime minister and Mongolia’s special envoy for the case, during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur on 12 November.
The case
Altantuya, a 28-year-old model and mother of two, was murdered in October 2006. The case quickly became a political scandal due to the connections of those involved and the circumstances in which the crime took place. According to testimony given in court by a cousin of the victim, Altantuya had carried out translation work from Russian into English for Abdul Razak Baginda.
Baginda, a political analyst and close associate of the then Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, was charged in connection with the murder but was acquitted at his criminal trial in 2008. Subsequently, in civil proceedings, he was held liable for Altantuya’s death, along with the two police officers Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar. The Court of Appeal upheld this finding in January 2026.
The two police officers belonged to the Special Action Unit, a special unit of the Malaysian police, and had served as part of Najib’s security detail. Their close association with the politician’s entourage fuelled questions for years about the circumstances of the murder. Najib has always denied knowing or having met Altantuya and has rejected any allegations of involvement in the murder.
The case has, however, remained intertwined with the country’s political memory, not least because of the subsequent scandal surrounding the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) sovereign wealth fund, which marked the end of Najib’s political career. The former prime minister has been convicted in several trials linked to the fund, from which billions of dollars were embezzled. He is currently under house arrest, where he is serving the remainder of his sentence in the case relating to SRC International, a company linked to 1MDB. The conviction in the main 1MDB trial, however, is still under appeal.
Mongolia’s requests
Among Ulan Bator’s requests is that the legal proceedings initiated by Altantuya’s family be examined in a fair and transparent manner. Mongolia has also sought an update on the status of the proceedings still underway. One of the issues concerns the judgement of 20 January, in which the Court of Appeal ruled out the government’s indirect liability for the murder and reduced the compensation awarded to the family from five million to approximately 1.38 million Malaysian ringgit. However, the same judgement confirmed the civil liability of Abdul Razak Baginda and the two former police officers, Sirul Azhar Umar and Azilah Hadri. The family has applied to the Federal Court for leave to appeal the decision. The hearing to consider this application has been scheduled for 25 February 2027, whilst a hearing on an amendment to the application documents is due to take place on 3 December.
Another request concerns Sirul, who fled Malaysia in 2014 and is currently in Australia: Ulan Bator is calling for legal arrangements to be found that would allow him to give evidence in the civil proceedings. Gombojav made it clear that any return would need to be accompanied by effective guarantees against the death penalty, as Mongolia does not want Sirul to be executed.
The special envoy expressed regret at the Court of Appeal’s decision, arguing that, when public officials and members of the police force are involved, the state should assume at least some of the responsibility. Gombojav has also launched an international petition, entitled “Dignity for Altantuya”, addressed to the governments of Malaysia and Australia, calling for truth and accountability in the case.
The responses received so far have not satisfied Ulan Bator
This diplomatic intervention comes as Altantuya’s father continues to seek further legal avenues in Malaysia. On 16 October 2025, the High Court granted him leave to proceed with an application for judicial review to seek clarification on the investigations relating to two statements submitted by Azilah: an affidavit dated 17 October 2019 and a supplementary affidavit dated 24 September 2024. In those documents, the former agent claims to have received orders from individuals at the highest levels of power to carry out a covert operation to kill Altantuya. These are allegations which the victim’s father is asking the authorities to investigate. The hearing, originally scheduled for 6 October 2026, has been postponed to 12 January 2027, after the authorities requested time to file a written response.
The two proceedings initiated by the family are therefore following separate paths: on the one hand, there is the application for leave to appeal against the judgement on civil compensation and the government’s liability; on the other, the judicial review to secure an investigation into Azilah’s statements and the individuals who, according to his account, allegedly gave the order to kill Altantuya.
The diplomatic note from Ulaanbaatar has brought back into the spotlight an issue that is difficult to shelve, despite Malaysia’s consistent assertion that the matter has been dealt with through its own judicial system. However, the new legal initiatives and Mongolia’s diplomatic intervention show that, for Altantuya’s family, the answers obtained so far are not sufficient.
