KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s lead defence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah insists that his client had been misled throughout his interview during the making of the controversial Netflix documentary Man on the Run, despite the director’s assertions that the former prime minister was well aware of his responses.
Speaking to Scoop, Shafee reiterated Najib’s stance that he was misled into believing that the film was solely about fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, and the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.
“No, no, no, my client was misled. Najib himself told me he was misled.
“Look at the title. The documentary itself is titled ‘Man on the Run’, where essentially it is to tell the story of Jho Low. It has got nothing to do with my client (Najib), who is not on the run.
“In fact, there was a crew (member) fired when the crew was here (in Kuala Lumpur). The guy (who was fired) could not agree with the director’s dishonesty,” Shafee said.
“Go on and ask the documentary director why the crew was fired. They (the production crew) were not interested in Najib’s side of the story. In fact, I think this whole thing is political. Manufactured from the United States, aided by the FBI and (Sarawak Report editor) Clare Rewcastle Brown,” he told Scoop when contacted yesterday.
Shafee, who is Najib’s lead defence lawyer, deemed that the Americans who were behind the documentary were not practising the fairness that they commonly preached.
“The Americans scream about human rights and fair trials… well, where is this fair trial that they’re screaming of? I don’t see it!”
Shafee was responding to documentary director Cassius Michael Kim, who told Scoop that Najib was not misled into agreeing to sit down for an interview with the production crew, named The Smoking Gun.
Kim told Scoop that Najib was accompanied by his lawyer Muhammad Farhan Shafee and aide Ahmad Lutfi Azhar during the interview, and that the trio would take occasional breaks to retire to a private conference room every 30 to 45 minutes to discuss the questions raised before returning with additional comments.
Shafee also touched on other parts of the two-hour long documentary, which features former attorney-general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas and Rewcastle Brown.
He dismissed Thomas’ comments as “absolute hogwash”, given that he had sat for an interview with the production crew with full knowledge that a court trial involving 1MDB was ongoing at that time.
“It is ridiculous and unthinkable for Rewcastle Brown to insinuate that my client is a killer. First, you linked him with Altantuya’s death and then the late Kevin Morais? It’s a stupid allegation!”
Shafee, on Monday, said that he would be writing a letter to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission as well as the Home Ministry to take necessary actions to take down the documentary from the streaming site.
Subsequently, he said, they have been instructed by Najib to also initiate contempt proceedings against Thomas and file a legal suit against Rewcastle Brown over their comments in the documentary.
However, Shafee had yet to announce whether Najib would take legal action against the production crew.
Man on the Run narrates the story of the 1MDB scandal, which involves Jho Low and his alleged scheme of embezzling funds from the wealth fund to finance his extravagant lifestyle.
Najib, who was interviewed for the documentary on April 3, 2022, appeared in snippets after the first hour of the two-hour film.
Also appearing in the documentary was Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
At the beginning of the interview, Najib reminds the team questioning him that he will stop the interview at any point, especially if it approaches the boundaries of sub judice 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. – January 11, 2024