Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng said while arresting suspects linked to a case was standard procedure for murder investigations, it appeared that the policemen involved in the operation leading to the trio’s death had yet to be apprehended.

He noted that it had been two days since the Attorney-General’s Chambers ordered the cops to reclassify the probe as murder.

“Malaysians do not want history to repeat. In the case of Altantuya Shaariibuu, the authorities failed to act firmly and carry out their duties from the start, allowing one of the convicted policemen to escape to Australia where he remains now.

“The same script is at risk of repeating with this Melaka case. So what are the police waiting for? Is there someone they are trying to protect? The inspector-general of police cannot be silent.

“The people want answers, not excuses. Whoever gave the order (to shoot the trio) and whoever pulled the trigger must be identified and hauled to court,” he said in a statement.

The three men were shot dead by Melaka police, who claimed that they were serial robbers who had attacked an officer with a parang. State police initially investigated the incident for attempted murder.

However, lawyers representing the families of M Puspanathan, 21, T Poovaneswaran, 24, and G Logeswaran, 29, said an audio recording and forensic evidence suggested that the men were killed “execution-style”.