Najib Razak has filed legal action against the Netflix show about the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) global financial scandal titled "Man on the Run".

The former Malaysian Prime Minister has not watched the show as he "does not have that privilege" in prison, his lawyer said.

Najib is currently serving a 12-year sentence for misappropriating millions of dollars from a company linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

He is facing 25 charges in another ongoing 1MDB trial where he is alleged of abusing his power and money laundering to gain some RM2.28 billion (S$652 million).

Instructed lawyer to file for contempt, defamation

Najib has instructed his lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah to file complaints against the show, The Star, Malay Mail and New Straits Times reported.

In Malaysia's High Court on Jan. 8, 2024, Muhammad Shafee filed for contempt against former Attorney-General Tan Sri Tommy Thomas and defamation action against Sarawak Report's editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown for their statements in the show.

Besides Thomas and Rewcastle-Brown, the show also features interviews with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysian Member of Parliament for Muar Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman and former MP Tony Pua.

Najib was also interviewed for the documentary before he was incarcerated.

Lawyer wants show removed

Muhammad Shafee also wanted the show to be "taken off from air in Netflix".

He said that he watched the 98-minute show on Jan. 7, 2024 night and found some of its contents "completely contemptuous, over and above it being sub judice”.

He cited some excerpts from the show and said those were just a few out of the 160 or so contemptuous remarks that he found.

Muhammad Shafee told the prosecutor that he would be writing to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the Home Minister about the show.

He said: "The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the Home Ministry have the authority to take [Man on the Run] off the air."

Trial to continue on Jan. 24

Muhammad Shafee told the media in a press conference that whatever Najib said in the programme was "100 per cent true".

However, he described Anwar's statements in the documentary as "unpleasant", explaining that there "is no proof and the case is still ongoing".

The trial is scheduled to continue on Jan. 24, 2024.

About Man on the Run

Man on the Run was released in cinemas in Singapore on Oct. 5, 2023 and in Malaysia on Oct. 19, 2023.

Netflix acquired worldwide distribution rights to the show, and it was released on the streaming platform in January 2024.

At the time of writing, the show holds the top position for movies in Singapore on Netflix.

New Straits Times reported that the show's ranking on Netflix in Malaysia climbed up from fourth to second place between Jan. 8 to 9, after Muhammad Shafee called for the "sub judicial and contemptuous" show to be removed.

New Straits Times further reported that Netflix has declined to comment on the matter.

Top image from Rotten Tomatoes and Netflix