AGC Appeals High Court's Dismissal Of Committal Bid Against Isham Jalil

KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 (Bernama) -- The Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) has filed a notice of appeal against the High Court’s decision to dismiss its committal proceedings against former UMNO information chief Isham Jalil.

The proceedings were related to Isham’s public remarks under his full name, Hizatul Isham Abdul Jalil, on the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) case involving former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Isham’s lawyer, Jamie Wong, confirmed to Bernama that her team received an email with the attached notice of appeal from the AGC last night.

“We received the email along with a cover letter from the AGC at 7.28 pm,” she said.

On July 8, Judge K. Muniandy dismissed the committal proceedings, ruling that Isham’s comments did not pose a real risk of undermining public confidence in the judiciary.

The proceedings arose from statements made by Isham during an interview titled “Townhall for Justice: Keadilan Sebenarnya Untuk Siapa”, in which he allegedly made remarks concerning the trial and appeal of Najib in the SRC International and 1MDB cases.

The remarks were subsequently published on the Facebook page of The Malaya Post on Sept 30, 2023.

The AG contended that Isham’s remarks included a challenge to the recusal process involving Justice Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah (now a judge of the Court of Appeal), who had presided over the 1MDB trial in the High Court.

The AG further asserted that the respondent’s statements had the effect of scandalising the judiciary and were capable of eroding public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judicial institution.

-- BERNAMA