Unlawful to consider Najib's request to take down documentary - LFL

Unlawful to consider Najib's request to take down documentary - LFL


Human rights group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) today warned the government against considering former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's request to take down the “Man on the Run” documentary from Netflix.

In a statement, LFL director Zaid Malek said it would be unlawful for Putrajaya to consider or allow such an application because Netflix is an over-the-top internet streaming service platform and thus not subjected to the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA).

On top of this, he stressed that the removal of the documentary by the government would also be contrary to the right to freedom of expression.

According to Zaid (above), LFL was surprised when Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told reporters yesterday that authorities would consider Najib’s request.

"We are surprised by the prime minister’s response, as well as Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil’s earlier comment of ‘if there is a request, we will go through that process’.

"The government has no such power to consider or allow such an application by Najib as it would be an unlawful exercise of power," the statement said.

‘Go through court like everyone else’

Zaid added that the removal of the documentary would amount to censorship, and this is contrary to Section 3(3) of CMA which states that the Act does not permit censorship of the internet.

He also noted that Najib should take the matter to the court if he feels aggrieved by the contents of the documentary.

"Whether any material or publication is sub judice must be decided by the courts, and not through extraordinary ‘requests’ to the government.

"Any remedy must be obtained by private legal action that is initiated by the person affected, which would be Najib in this case, and not by executive intervention. In short, like everyone else, Najib must seek relief from the courts.

"Further, should the government approve the request and have the documentary removed from Netflix, they would be seen to have used their powers to accede to a request by an influential member of their Umno political ally, which perception is anathema to good governance," Zaid added.

On Jan 8, Najib through his lead counsel in the 1MDB trial, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told the Kuala Lumpur High Court that he wanted the government to take down the documentary.

He claimed the show was "contemptuous and sub judice" to the ongoing RM2.27 billion 1MDB corruption trial against him.

Following this, Najib's legal team also sent a letter to Fahmi for the government to compel Netflix to take down the 1MDB-linked documentary.