Desperate to avoid extradition to Malaysia where he will face the death penalty, the man convicted of murder amidst allegations that he was ordered to kill a Mongolian socialite at the centre of a high-level corruption scandal allegedly involving the Prime Minister of Malaysia, has threatened to somehow implicate the RMA who has been providing him migration advice that could save his life.

Sirul Azhar Umar, a former body guard of the prime minister, said he was acting under orders when in 2006 he twice shot 28-year-old translator Altantuya Shaariibuu in the head as she begged for the life of her unborn child and then wrapped her body with military explosives and blew her up.

Sirul fled to Australia last year just before the Malaysian Federal Court sentenced him to death by hanging. The efforts by the Malaysian authorities to extradite him were hampered by existing Australian legislation prohibiting the extradition of individuals to countries with the death penalty.

RMA Robert Chelliah has been assisting Sirul who is currently being held at Sydney’s Villawood Detention Centre. It has been reported that Mr Chelliah advised Sirul the only way to secure his residency in Australia was to secure a protection visa by revealing to immigration whose orders he was following, and to convince them it was an error of judgment committed due to external conditions beyond his control.

“Yes, I did try to persuade him to come out with the truth to secure his freedom. I impressed on him the need to tell the truth, to convince the immigration minister that he is inherently not a criminal...The process was hijacked by various interests of the Malaysian special branch, and Malaysian political system.” Mr Chelliah said.

According to Malaysian media reports, last week Sirul said in a video he recorded, that the names of those who attempted to offer him bribes or coerce him into implicating Najib in the woman’s murder, would be revealed.

Americk Sidhu, the lawyer of a now deceased private investigator close to the murder case, weighed in on the matter and said he believed that Robert would be named as one of the five that Sirul would expose.

Mr Chelliah has however publically warned that if Sirul tried to politicise his professional help, the gloves would come off and he would be forced to reveal their conversations including those with the Malaysian lawyers.

"I would have thought a platform would not be freely granted to a person in detention to propagate his version of the story” said Mr Chelliah.

"If the Department of Immigration does not know the extent of Sirul’s freedom of communication with the outside world... they would be derelict in their duty.” Mr Chelliah said.