President Battulga Khaltmaa congratulated the 92-year old Mahathir on his appointment but said reopening the investigation would not only help justice but also ease tensions between the two countries.
“As president of Mongolia, I pay special attention to the aggravated crime, that in October 18, 2006, a citizen of Mongolia and mother of two children Shaariibuu Altantuya was murdered in Malaysia,” he said in a letter to Mahathir that was also published on his office’s website.
The move could put more pressure on Mahathir’s embattled predecessor, Najib Razak, who is embroiled in police investigations into money-laundering and possible corruption involving billions of funds from state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad.
Altantuya, 28, was killed and blown up with explosives in a forest in Subang. In 2015, two former police officers were sentenced to death for the crime after first being sentenced in 2009 and acquitted four years later.
But reports have alleged that the officers served as bodyguards for Najib, who was deputy prime minister at the time and his critics have have alleged that the murder was linked to Malaysia’s purchase of two French-built Scorpene-class submarines.
Lawyer: Make ex-cops crown witnesses in Altantuya murder case