KUALA LUMPUR – The high court here today granted the attorney-general (AG) permission to initiate committal proceedings against former Umno Supreme Council member Isham Jalil for contempt of court for remarks he made about former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia Development Bhd and SRC International Bhd cases.
Judge Datuk Noorin Badaruddin made the ruling after hearing submissions by deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Mustaffa P. Kunyalam and counsel Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun, representing Isham, legally known as Hizatul Isham Abdul Jalil, as respondent.
“The court allows the AG’s application and sets April 23 for case management,” she said.
Earlier, Mustaffa submitted that the words spoken by the respondent during the last September interview, as a whole, contained a real risk of undermining public confidence in the administration of justice.
“By questioning the conduct and the decisions by the Federal Court as well as the high court pertaining to the SRC and 1MDB cases involving Najib, the respondent has disgraced the judiciary and put it to scandal (scandalising the judiciary),” said the prosecutor.
Meanwhile, counsel Azhar countered that his client was entitled to freedom of speech and whether his comments constitute contempt is arguable, as Isham did not commit any contempt inside the courtroom, per se.
To this, Mustaffa replied that freedom of speech, enshrined in the Federal Constitution, is a right accorded to everyone but the comments need to be within ‘reasonable courtesy and good faith’.
In the ex-parte application filed on December 28, the AG also requested the court imprison or impose a fine on Isham for the offence.
It was over an interview titled Townhall for Justice: Keadilan Sebenarnya Untuk Siapa, during which Isham reportedly commented on the trial and appeal of Najib in the SRC International and 1MDB cases.
The comments were posted on The Malaya Post’s Facebook page on September 30, last year. – March 4, 2024