KUALA LUMPUR - A HIGH-profile political analyst was on Friday cleared of involvement in the murder of a Mongolian woman, in a case linked to top government figures that has gripped Malaysia.

Abdul Razak Baginda, a close associate of Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, was accused of abetting the 2006 slaying of his former lover Altantuya Shaariibuu, whose body was blown up with explosives in a jungle clearing.

In one of the longest hearings in Malaysia's history, a court spent 151 days considering whether there was a case against Abdul Razak and two police officers accused of carrying out the murder.

'I find there is no prima facie case for him to answer his charge. He is therefore acquitted and discharged', said Judge Mohamad Zaki Mohamad Yasin. He had faced the death penalty by hanging if found guilty.

Abdul Razak, 48, hugged his wife and daughter from the dock while his elderly parents sat crying in the court.

'I just want to go home', he said as he was escorted out through a huge media scrum.

However, the court ordered the two policemen - from an elite unit which guards the prime minister and deputy prime minister - to enter their defence.

The case will be heard from November 10.

Ms Altantuya's father Setev Shaariibuu was distraught over the decision, in a case that has been seen as a test of the strength of Malaysia's much-criticised judiciary.

'I am not satisfied. My daughter knows only one Malaysian and it is Razak Baginda. Now my daughter is dead and Baginda is freed... the country has lost credibility in the world', he told reporters.

Mr Najib, who is expected to be appointed premier next March when Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi stands down, has vehemently denied any involvement in the killing of the 28-year-old interpreter.

Malaysia's top blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin has been charged with sedition after repeatedly linked Najib and his wife to the murder on his popular website Malaysia Today.

He was jailed in September under tough security laws for allegedly insulting Islam.

Abdullah last month defended his deputy over new allegations that Mr Najib interfered in the case, after Malaysia Today published an SMS text message exchange purportedly between the deputy premier and Abdul Razak's lawyer.

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim also condemned the handling of the case, which has been the subject of intense speculation among Malaysians.

'There is a general and growing perception that the investigation was not done professionally and that there is a clear motive to cover up', he told reporters.

'The prosecution here has failed to conduct the case professionally'.

Mr Anwar himself faces trial over sodomy allegations, which he says have been concocted by leading figures in the government because they fear he could use information on the Altantuya case to bring about their downfall.

Deputy public prosecutor Tun Majid Tun Hamzah said the acquittal could be contested.

'We will consider appealing the decision. The battle is not over yet', he said. -- AFP