Setev Shaariibuu said he was not concerned about ex-police commando Sirul Azhar Umar, the man convicted of killing his daughter and sentenced to death.

Although it had been 12 years since the murder, he said he hoped to succeed in getting the case reopened to discover the truth.

“I don’t want to talk about Sirul or about the death penalty (he faces).

“The most important thing is who ordered the murder… not Sirul,” Shaariibuu said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

His lawyer Ramkarpal Singh also said that Sirul was not needed to reopen the murder case.

He said it was likely the police already knew who ordered the killing, and it would not take long for the matter to be brought to light.

“Sirul is not crucial in the case. There is other evidence. There are other crucial witnesses who were not called to testify during the trial,” he said.

Altantuya, 28, was killed between Oct 19 and 20, 2006 by Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar, who were members of an elite police commando unit that provided bodyguards for Malaysia’s top leaders.

She was shot twice in the head before being wrapped in military-grade explosives and blown to pieces. The motive for the crime as well as the source of the order for her death remains unknown.

Her family is suing Azilah, Sirul, Abdul Razak Baginda who was Altantuya’s lover and a close associate of former prime minister Najib Razak, and the government of Malaysia for RM100 million in damages and compensation.

Sirul fled to Australia before the final court verdict and has been in detention in Sydney for nearly two years. He has offered to help in any new investigation into the murder if he is pardoned.

Ramkarpal said Azilah, who is on death row in Kajang prison, would also be a useful witness if the case is reopened.