Isham Jalil offering apology to end contempt proceedings, court told

Isham Jalil is alleged to have made contemptuous statements on Najib Razak’s 1MDB and SRC International cases during an interview published on Facebook in September 2023.

The offer was made to avoid ongoing contempt proceedings brought by the attorney-general against the former Umno member.

Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib informed Justice Noorin Badaruddin that lawyers appearing for Isham had sent representations to the attorney-general in a bid to bring the matter to a close.

“I have yet to brief the attorney-general and take instructions on the representations,” Ahmad told Noorin when the case came up for mention today.

Akram, who was assisted by deputy public prosecutor Mustaffa Kunyalam, applied for the matter to be fixed for further mention in June, saying he is currently involved in the ongoing 1MDB trial before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah.

Meanwhile, Mustaffa told Noorin that all cause papers were served on Isham after the court granted the attorney-general leave to commence proceedings against the former Umno man.

Lawyers Jamie Wong and Kelvesh Deshenraj, who appeared for Isham, confirmed submitting the representations on Isham’s behalf in hopes of resolving the matter without a hearing.

Noorin fixed the case for mention on June 10 and ordered that Isham, who was absent today, be present at the next proceeding.

On March 4, Noorin allowed the attorney-general leave to initiate the contempt proceedings, being satisfied that a prima facie case had been established against Isham.

Filed on Dec 28 last year, the application concerned statements Isham allegedly made during an interview titled “Townhall for justice: Keadilan sebenarnya untuk siapa”.

The interview appeared on Facebook on Sept 30, 2023, via an account known as Malaya Post.

In an affidavit filed in support of the leave application, Mustaffa claimed that Isham had during the interview commented on Najib’s 1MDB and SRC International trials, and the Federal Court’s conduct of the final appeal in the latter case.

Isham is also alleged to have accused Sequerah and Justice Nazlan Ghazali, who presided over the 1MDB and SRC International trials, respectively, of bias. He allegedly said the judges ought to have withdrawn from hearing the cases.

Both judges now sit in the Court of Appeal.

According to Mustaffa, Isham also claimed that the five apex court judges, led by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who heard Najib’s final appeal in the SRC International case, had judged the case unfairly.

The affidavit claimed Isham’s statements could undermine the public’s confidence in the judiciary and could amount to interference with the administration of justice.