Razak Baginda gives thanks in quiet affair

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 — The thanksgiving kenduri held tonight in the home of Abdul Razak Baginda, the political analyst recently acquitted of abetting in the murder of a Mongolian woman, was a relatively modest and subdued affair.

There was a single marquee, draped in white and red, set up in his front garden in the leafy neighbourhood of Damansara Heights. No music. Three tables were placed outdoors for the invited guests, limited to family members and close friends.

The press stationed outside since 6pm estimated some 20 guests. They had been trickling in, in one, twos, threes and more slightly before 7pm and were greeted warmly at the door by Abdul Razak’s wife Mazlinda Makhzan and daughter, Rowena.

However, Abdul Razak himself was not sighted this time. He had been spotted earlier in the day, arriving home and then leaving again in a silver Mercedes car in the span of half an hour. He looked rather haggard then, dressed simply in a plain, white shirt over dark trousers. And he seemed most grim without his spectacles and with a deep frown pinching the skin between his prominent eyebrows.

Spotting the press, Rowena diligently came out to the gate and distributed the same copies of a brief press statement she had handed out earlier in the day. In it, she apologised for cancelling the highly anticipated press conference her father was to hold at swanky Hotel Maya in Jalan Ampang this morning.

Asked why it had been cancelled, Rowena smiled and said it had not been cancelled but was merely postponed. She declined to commit to a future date, however, and very politely refused to entertain further questions.

“All I have to say is in the press statement,” the 21-year-old said.

Later, she accompanied her paternal grandfather, Datuk Abdullah Malim Baginda, out to speak to the press.

He explained that they were holding a thanksgiving prayer session in the house and asked members of the media to respect their privacy.

“We’re here to do a tahlil for thanksgiving and also for the policeman that died,” said Abdullah Malim, apparently referring to a police officer who had been on court duty during his son’s trial and who had passed away.

He also invited the reporters and photographers to dine with them after they performed the Isyak prayers.

“You can come in, on the condition, no photos please,” he reminded before going back into the house where the prayers were being performed.

-TMI