KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was misled into agreeing to an interview with the directors of Netflix’s ‘Man on the Run’ documentary, says his lead counsel.
Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said Najib was only informed that the interview would focus on international fugitive banker Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low.
“He didn’t know about the final outcome of the documentary. This is a typical American programme; they will mislead you and tell you untruthful things.
“What my client (Najib) mentioned in the interview about Jho Low was absolutely true,” he said.
He later added that his client has never watched the documentary, as he is in prison and has not been granted such privileges.
It was reported that Najib has instructed his team of lawyers to send a letter to the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) as well as the Home Ministry to stop the documentary from being made available on Netflix.
Shafee clarified that the request has been narrowed down to ‘at least the screening of the documentary in Malaysia’.
Further, he also said that Najib is considering initiating contempt of court proceedings against former attorney general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas and Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown for comments they made in the documentary.
The ‘Man on the Run’ documentary, directed by Cassius Michael Kim, narrates the story of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal, which involves Jho Low and his alleged scheme of embezzling 1MDB funds to finance his extravagant lifestyle.
Najib, who was interviewed for the documentary on April 3, 2022, appeared after the first hour in the two-hour documentary.
In the beginning of the interview, Najib reminds the team questioning him that he would stop the interview at any point, especially if it approached the boundaries of subjudice and contempt of court, as the case is still ongoing in court.
The documentary was initially screened in cinemas nationwide in October of last year and later became available on Netflix starting January 5 of this year.
On Najib’s plan to initiate contempt proceedings against the media, as reported on Friday, Shafee said documents are being drafted.
“However, (it is only applicable) to selected media. We’ll send them the letter first, and if they give us a good answer, we may not proceed,” he said.
Last Friday, Shafee was reported as saying that he would initiate contempt proceedings on behalf of his client, Najib, against several media outlets, particularly the New Straits Times, Sinar Harian, and Astro Awani.
This is in response to their reports alleging that Najib engaged in vote-buying during the 13th General Election (GE13).
At today’s court proceedings, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officer Nur Aida Ariffin, who investigated the 1MDB scandal, informed the high court that Najib’s private Ambank account received US$30 million through two transactions on October 30 and November 20, 2012, from Blackstone Asia Real Estate Partners.
The deposited funds originated from a bond issuance totaling US$1.75 billion by 1MDB subsidiaries, specifically 1MDB Energy (Langat) Limited.
The 1MDB trial before Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah (now a Court of Appeal judge) will continue on January 24. – January 8, 2024