Why are some people becoming uppity over the contents of the documentary “Man on the Run”?
What Najib Abdul Razak’s lawyer said in and out of court on Monday was enough for Malaysians to rush to watch it and for non-Netflix customers scurrying to subscribe. For a good measure, pirated versions are circulating on social media.
On Thursday, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah wrote to Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil to order Netflix to remove the show, which chronicles the 1MDB financial scandal.
On Friday, Umno Youth jumped on the wagon by making the same call.
Describing it as a “trial by media'' and a “malicious attempt” to form a negative perception of Najib, the wing’s chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh pointed out that the former prime minister is still facing court proceedings related to 1MDB.
Hardcore party supporters are still singing the same song (out of tune) titled “Najib did not get a fair trial”.
The sordid details that emerged from the SRC International trial – the extravagance and the millions spent – were sufficient for right-thinking Malaysians to make their own decision.
The Court of Appeal dismissed Najib’s appeal and judge Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil remarked: “There is no national interest here, just a national embarrassment.”
Najib became a convicted felon after the High Court trial and having failed at two appellate courts, this stigma sticks and there is little hope of changing any negative views of him.
The mathematical theory that two negatives make a positive is certainly not applicable in this context.
1MDB scandal
Among the many issues Shafee has taken umbrage are remarks as to who is the puppet master and who is the puppeteer.
This same question has been raised over the past years in several articles and publications around the globe and everyone was just speculating.
Let us not ignore the fact that the 1MDB scandal has been described as “one of the world’s greatest financial scandals” and declared by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) as the “largest kleptocracy case to date”.
The ongoing 1MDB-Tanore trial is continuing to provide plenty of juicy details and investigators are still on the stand and do not expect those who follow the case to be astonished or shaken up as further revelations emerge.
I have a question: Why was this issue not raised when “Man on the Run” was screened in local theatres in October last year and it even went past the Film Censor Board without cuts?
Did Shafee’s team miss it and did they also miss a review by Malaysiakini journalist Indra Sathiabalan? She wrote in her opening: “The movie involving Low (Taek Jho) is something everyone in Malaysia should watch, at least once.”
As I said earlier, Malaysians had already formed their opinions on Najib and this was confirmed when she wrote: “The fact that (Najib) allowed himself to be interviewed speaks volumes about the man. Najib’s denials were not only priceless but laughable at times.
“When Najib said, ‘The system failed me’, it drew a lot of giggles in the cinema. He blamed everyone, including Low and those whom he ‘trusted’.”
Will this cause further delays to the ongoing trial or is it yet another distraction to the Pardons Board hearing this month?
But that would be misreading. Umno has some “unused bullets” that were provided by former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
In the lead-up to the GE15, (he was caretaker prime minister after Parliament was dissolved) he admitted that he had declassified the report detailing Putrajaya’s investigation into former attorney-general Tommy Thomas’ book so it could be used as political “bullets” to attack Pakatan Harapan.
Can I presume that the bullets were aimed at someone and others may have been caught in the crossfire, or perhaps friendly fire?
On this issue of contempt, what else can be implied by detractors and party supporters (lawyers included that the High Court and Court of Appeal were “not fair” in coming to the decision and that the judges were motivated by politics?
Wouldn’t that be contempt? Wouldn’t that be casting aspersions on the conduct and character of the High Court judge and three appellate court judges? Isn’t that questioning the integrity of the judges?
You, the readers decide. - Mkini
R NADESWARAN is a veteran journalist who writes on bread-and-butter issues. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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