KUALA LUMPUR – The fate of former police corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, who is currently walking free in Australia, remains up in the air as its government is looking to pass new preventative detention laws by tomorrow.
According to a report by the Sydney Morning Herald, yesterday, government backbenchers moved a motion during its Senate meeting to “immediately vote on Labor’s (ruling party) new preventative detention laws”.
Elected officials in the country have reportedly engaged in heavy debates following the “landmark” decision by an Australian high court on November 8 to overturn the legality of indefinite immigration detention, which allowed Sirul, among the 140 non-Australians, to be released.
The Australian government’s motion was ultimately backed by opposition members, and the bill is expected to be passed in the Lower house on Thursday.
Sirul, along with the said individuals, mostly refugees and several found guilty of violent crimes, were released from detention and allowed to remain in Australia under “special conditions”, which included being equipped with an electronic monitoring device and curfews on movements.
Sirul and fellow cop Azilah Hadri were found guilty by the high court here in 2009 for shooting and blowing up Altantuya, who was described as an interpreter, with military-grade explosives.
In 2013, the duo succeeded in overturning their conviction at the appellate court after a three-member panel, which included the current Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, found the conviction to be “unsafe”.
However, the Malaysian Federal Court in 2015 restored their conviction and sentenced them to death. Prior to the apex court’s ruling, Sirul had fled to Australia, where he stayed under the custody of Australian authorities at Sydney’s Villawood immigration detention centre until his release.
In Sirul’s case, the former police commando had faced indefinite detention as he was unlikely to be granted a visa to Australia due to his murder conviction in Malaysia, but he could not be sent back to his home country as Australian law would not allow the deportation of an individual back to a country where they could be sentenced to death.
Last month, in a bombshell interview with Al Jazeera’s 101 East, Sirul denied responsibility for the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu, claiming he was merely a scapegoat.
In the 25-minute programme streamed on YouTube, Sirul expressed hopes to be accepted by the Australian community and wishes to build a life with his family there. – December 6, 2023