Attorney-General obtains leave to initiate committal proceedings against ex-Umno man
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here yesterday allowed the Attorney-General to initiate committal proceedings against former Umno Supreme Council member Isham Jalil for contempt of court, over remarks made regarding former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s 1Malaysia Development Berhad and SRC International Sdn Bhd’s 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, or legally known as Hizatul Isham
Abdul Jalil, as the respondent.
“The court allows the AG’s application and sets April 23 for a case management,” the judge said.
Earlier, Mohamad Mustaffa submitted that the words spoken by the respondent during the interview last September as a whole contained a real risk of undermining the 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,” said the prosecutor.
Meanwhile, counsel Azhar Azizan countered that his client was entitled to freedom of speech and whether his comments constituted contempt was arguable as Isham did not commit any contempt inside of the courtroom.
To this, Mohamad Mustaffa replied that freedom of speech as enshrined in the Federal Constitution was a right accorded to everyone, but the comments needed to be within ‘reasonable courtesy and good faith’.
In the ex-parte application filed on Dec 28 last year, the AG also requested the court to imprison or impose a fine on Isham for the offence. Isham reportedly commented on Najib’s trial and appeal in the SRC International and 1MDB cases during an interview titled ‘Townhall for Justice: Keadilan Sebenarnya Untuk Siapa’.