Mahathir (left) said the government is open to reopening the 2006 murder case of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu. — Picture by Firdaus Latif

KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 — Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said Putrajaya could apply to commute convicted murderer Sirul Azhar Umar's death sentence to life imprisonment in order to circumvent the legal hurdle barring Australia from extraditing him now.

He said Australia’s policy was such that it may not deport anyone to a country where the latter is at risk of being killed.

“We will seek to replace his sentence from death to jail. If he fears that other people might kill him, he has a choice of not coming back,” Dr Mahathir told a news conference in Putrajaya after chairing a Cabinet meeting.

Dr Mahathir also denied an earlier news report by UK daily The Guardian that Malaysia is negotiating with Australia to extradite Sirul.

“No we haven’t. I’m getting this from you for the first time,” he replied when asked to confirm the extradition negotiations as reported.

But Dr Mahathir said the government is open to reopening the 2006 murder case of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu whose body was destroyed with C-4 explosives, reportedly by Sirul and another former police elite, Azilah Hadri.

“We have been asked to look into it and we are looking into it,” the prime minister said.

Quoting an unnamed source, The Guardian yesterday reported that Malaysia and Australia have jointly agreed on the terms for Sirul’s extradition, and that the former police commando would depart within the month.

The terms, among others, was for Malaysia to bear the cost of extradition.

Sirul, who was recently interviewed by The Guardian, said he was not willing to return to Malaysia even if his death sentence is commuted to life in prison.

He expressed fear that he would be killed while in prison here.

In 2009, the High Court found Sirul and Azilah, both formerly with the police’s Special Action Unit, guilty of murdering Altantuya in Mukim Bukit Raja in Klang between 10pm on October 19, 2006 and 1am on October 20, 2006.

During the course of their trial, it was revealed that the Mongolian was shot and her body blown up with explosives in a jungle clearing on the night of October 19.

The Court of Appeal acquitted the duo on August 23, 2013, but the Federal Court had on January 13, 2015 unanimously reversed their acquittal and restored the court order for their mandatory death sentence.

Sirul fled to Australia before the Federal Court made its decision.

Since then, Sirul has been kept in the detention centre as he has also been denied a temporary protection visa.