KUALA LUMPUR – Sacked Umno leader Isham Jalil says he was taken by surprise by news that the Attorney-General’s Chambers has filed for contempt of court against him for comments made on Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s corruption trial.
The former party information chief said he did not know of the ex-parte injunction filed against him until a report in Utusan Malaysia this morning.
“The government of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim through the Attorney-General’s Chambers wants to imprison me for purportedly committing contempt of court over Najib’s case.
“According to the news report, they have submitted an ex-parte application to the court. I have not seen this ex-parte application of theirs,” Isham said on Facebook today.
Isham also claimed the filing was made because the government was unstable and desperate to stay in power.
“It is now my turn. I will fight back,” he said.
According to Utusan Malaysia’s report, the application was filed on December 28 at the Kuala Lumpur High Court, and asks the court to jail or fine Isham for contempt.
This is for remarks he made in an interview titled “Townhall for Justice: Keadilan Sebenarnya Untuk Siapa?” which was aired on social media in September last year.
In his remarks, Isham commented on Najib’s SRC International and 1Malaysia Development Bhd trials.
His remarks are said to have questioned the legitimacy of Najib’s appeal in the SRC International case at the Federal Court, according to the filing.
Isham is also said to have tarnished the credibility of the high court judge that heard the SRC International case, as well as of Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who led the apex court bench in upholding Najib’s conviction and sentence.
Utusan reported that the application was mentioned before judge Datuk Collin Sequerah yesterday and that a request was made for the judge to recuse himself as he was currently hearing Najib’s 1MDB trial.
Najib is currently serving 12 years in jail for corruption in the SRC International case, while his 1MDB trial is ongoing. – January 6, 2024