BAGAN DATUK, 21 April 2018:
The two assailants of a Palestinian university lecturer in Kuala Lumpur today are believed to be Caucasians linked to an intelligence organisation of a country, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Home Minister, said the police would work with Interpol and Aseanapol to track down the duo immediately.
“The police will conduct their investigation by covering all angles. We will investigate the case until the arrest of the perpetrators of the crime.
“We will provide information on the developments in the case from time to time,” Ahmad Zahid responded to questions on the shooting of the 35-year-old lecturer at about 6am today as he was walking from his condominium to a nearby surau in Jalan Meranti, Setapak, for the dawn prayers.
Kuala Lumpur Police chief Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim disclosed details of the shooting but did not reveal the name of the lecturer. The Palestinian Ambassador to Malaysia Datuk Dr Anwar H. Al Agha, speaking to reporters at the scene, said the dead man was Dr Fadi Al Batsh.
Ahmad Zahid said a preliminary investigation showed the lecturer was to have left for Turkey this afternoon to attend an international conference.
He said the lecturer, who was an electrical engineer and an expert at making rockets, had had links with an intelligence organisation of a country and had been active in Islamic NGOs that championed the Palestinian cause.
“The lecturer, a permanent resident of this country, is believed to have become a liability for a country hostile to Palestine.”
Mazlan said two men on a motorcycle fired 10 shots at the 35-year-old victim, killing him on the spot.
“Preliminary investigations found four gunshot wounds on the victim’s body. Two bullet slugs were found at the scene of the incident,” Mazlan said in a statement.
He declined to comment on reports the victim was a member of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas or had been targeted by hitmen. “It’s too early to say, we are still investigating all aspects.”
Hamas, which exercises de facto control over Gaza, said one of its members was “assassinated” in Malaysia but stopped short of accusing Israel’s secret service of carrying out the killing.
A Hamas statement said Batsh was “assassinated at treacherous hands on Saturday…as he walked for the dawn prayers.”
Batsh’s uncle Jamal al-Batsh, speaking in the Jabalya town in northern Gaza Strip, said he believed the killing was the work of Israel’s Mossad espionage service.
When asked who he blamed, he replied: “The Israeli Mossad. The Israeli Mossad stood behind the assassination of educated people and intellectuals because Israel knows Palestine will be liberated by scientists.
“Therefore, they tracked this young educated man.”
Batsh was a lecturer at Universiti Kuala Lumpur, specialising in power engineering, according to the university.
– Bernama/Reuters