A Malaysian university has drawn anger over an event invitation to Abdul Razak Baginda, the former lover of a Mongolian woman whose body was blown up with military-grade explosives in one of the country’s most notorious murders.

The controversy has spread beyond social media to the International Islamic University Malaysia’s own academics, who on Thursday called for a review of Abdul Razak’s appearance at the university’s International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC) on Tuesday.

An adviser and associate of Najib Razak when the future Malaysian prime minister was then defence minister, Abdul Razak is scheduled to speak on the topic “Asia’s Heroes and Villains: A Study of Leadership” at the ISTAC. He now heads the ICON Centre for Global Affairs, a Kuala Lumpur-based think tank focused on international affairs and public policy.

Abdul Razak was in a romantic relationship with Altantuya Shaariibuu, a 28-year-old Mongolian model and interpreter who was shot and whose body was destroyed with military-grade explosives in a forest outside Kuala Lumpur in October 2006.

In 2002, Abdul Razak brokered a US$1.1 billion deal for the Malaysian Defence Ministry to buy two French Scorpene-class submarines. Altantuya allegedly demanded US$500,000 to stay quiet about corruption in the deal, fuelling speculation about the reason for her murder.

The deal went ahead, with both submarines delivered to Malaysia in 2009. Allegations of kickbacks surrounding the purchase prompted investigations in Malaysia and France. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission said in 2024 that its probe remained active and that new leads had emerged. But so far there has been no public update on its progress.