Najib’s team threatens court action over Netflix show
KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak wants to take action against former attorney general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas and Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown over their statements in the documentary Man on the Run.
The former Pekan MP is also seeking to remove the 98-minute show currently airing on Netflix for its “sub judicial and contemptuous” content.
His lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah made the complaint on the show at the High Court at the outset of Najib’s RM2.28bil 1MDB trial here yesterday.
He said he was instructed by his client to file contempt proceedings against Thomas and file legal action against Rewcastle-Brown over their statements in the documentary.
“The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the Home Ministry have the authority to take it off the air,” the lawyer said.
The show, which first screened in cinemas in Singapore and was released on Netflix last Friday, features interviews with politicians and personalities like Thomas and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
It also features interviews with former Damansara MP Tony Pua and whistleblower Xavier Andre Justo, among others.
Najib was also interviewed for the documentary prior to his incarceration.
At a press conference, Muhammad Shafee said what Najib said in the programme was “100% true”.
“I observed (the interview) and what he said was justified,” Muhammad Shafee said.
He said he informed the court about the documentary for the prosecution to bring the matter to the Attorney General.
“They (the Attorney General’s Chambers) can bring this to the MCMC,” he said.
Asked if Najib had seen the documentary, Muhammad Shafee said: “He is in prison, how could he watch it? He doesn’t have that privilege.”
The lawyer was also asked about Anwar’s statements in the documentary, which Muhammad Shafee described as “unpleasant”.
“There were statements that were unpleasant because there is no proof and the case is still ongoing,” he said.
The trial also saw a heated exchange of words between the prosecution and the defence over a statement by the 49th prosecution witness, Nur Aida Arifin, who resumed her testimony by reading her 95-page witness statement.
Her testimony, however, was halted when Muhammad Shafee stood up to object several times.
He argued that the witness, a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) senior officer, had “drawn her own conclusions” in the case.
Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib responded that Nur Aida’s testimony was merely based on the findings of her investigation as she was the investigating officer in the 1MDB probe. Muhammad Shafee, however, still got on his feet to object numerous times.
High Court judge Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah interjected and said the proceedings could not continue in such a manner.
“Either we continue on this path, which will take forever, or I adjourn the trial, and both parties come up with a statement they can live with ... we cannot go on like this,” he said.
The proceedings were then adjourned for parties to meet the judge in chambers.
Najib, 70, is on trial for 25 charges, four for abuse of power that allegedly brought him the financial benefit to the tune of RM2.28bil and 21 for money laundering involving the same amount of money.
The hearing continues on Jan 24.
