“The act of contempt alleged is the direction given by the respondent [Terrirudin] to advance false arguments and deny the existence of the 'addendum order'. In the absence of clear evidence showing that the respondent personally did as alleged... these allegations are but mere speculation,” the judge said.
KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 4): Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has failed in his attempt to cite former attorney general Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh for contempt, after the High Court on Thursday ruled that his application was speculative, delayed, and did not disclose a prima facie case.
Justice Alice Loke Yee Ching, in dismissing the application for leave to commence committal proceedings, said the allegations were unsupported by evidence and could not be sustained.
“The act of contempt alleged is the direction given by the respondent [Terrirudin] to advance false arguments and deny the existence of the 'addendum order'. In the absence of clear evidence showing that the respondent personally did as alleged... these allegations are but mere speculation,” she said.
Najib’s lawyers led by Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah had claimed that Terrirudin had misled the court by suppressing knowledge of an “addendum order” that would have allowed the former Pekan MP to serve the remainder of his six-year sentence under home detention.
Justice Loke gave four clear reasons for rejecting Najib’s bid:
- Speculation, not evidence: The alleged contempt was based solely on the AGC’s opposition during the leave hearing. It was “pure conjecture” to infer that Terrirudin had personally directed false arguments
- Context of the leave stage: At the time of filing the judicial review for the addendum order, even Najib was uncertain of the addendum order’s existence. The AGC was entitled to object on that basis.
- No duty to disclose: The Attorney General had no obligation at the leave stage to confirm or deny the addendum order existed. “The Malaysian position is unlike that of the United Kingdom,” Justice Loke stressed.
- Inordinate delay: Najib only filed the contempt application in May 2025, more than a year after the AGC’s objections in April 2024 to the judicial review. The judge said this delay was “fatal”, since contempt must be pursued promptly.
On top of dismissing the application, Justice Loke ordered Najib to pay RM20,000 in costs to Terrirudin.
Shafee had told Justice Loke that he would be appealing the decision at the Court of Appeal and requested for her grounds of judgment so he can commence with filing the appeal.
This contempt application can be traced back to proceedings in Najib’s leave application for judicial review last year, to have the “royal addendum” enforced.
In July last year, the High Court dismissed the application for leave on the addendum, on the grounds that it did not pass the threshold for leave and that Najib had relied on “hearsay” evidence.
While the High Court initially dismissed his leave bid, the Court of Appeal later allowed him to introduce the order as fresh evidence in January 2025 — a move upheld by the Federal Court. That judicial review is still pending for hearing of its merits at the High Court.
Najib claimed Terrirudin knew of the existence of the document but had directed his officers to mislead the court by arguing otherwise.
Contempt of court happens when the legal system is disrespected. For instance, when someone disobeys court rules or interferes with legal proceedings. Legal action can be taken to sanction such behaviour. However, leave or permission must be first obtained from the court.