Take down Netflix documentary, Najib urges Fahmi

KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has officially written to the Communications Ministry to take action against the airing of documentary "Man on the Run" on Netflix.

In a letter issued by Messrs Shafee and Co, Najib's defence team contended that the statements by several individuals in the documentary, including former attorney general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas and Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown, were in contempt of court as Najib's 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) corruption trial was still ongoing at the High Court.

The letter, dated Jan 11, was addressed to Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairman Tan Sri Mohamad Salim Fateh Din and MCMC chief compliance officer Datuk Zulkairnain Mohd Yasin.

Najib's team included transcripts of the interviews in the documentary featuring Thomas, Rewcastle-Brown, former Damansara MP Tony Pua and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

It also included the transcript of interviewees; former US ambassador to Malaysia John R. Malott, former US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officers to Malaysia Charles O’Neal (Chuck) and David Smith.

Najib's lawyers claimed the statements were defamatory, a sub judice, prejudicial and biased and they were never proven in the court of law.

"We urged you to take down the documentary and restrain the platform from further airing the documentary," it said.

The letter was also forwarded to the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex deputy registrar, Attorney General Datuk Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh, and the prosecution at the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).

On Monday (Jan 8), Najib's lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah made his complaint about the documentary to High Court judge Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah during the 1MDB trial.

He told the court that they were seeking to remove the 98-minute show off the streaming platform for its "subjudicial and contemptuous" content.

The show, directed by Cassius Michael Kim, first aired in cinemas in Singapore and was released on Netflix on Jan 5.