DATUK Seri Najib Razak has failed in his bid to initiate contempt proceedings against former attorney-general Tan Sri Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh.
High Court judge Alice Loke Yee Ching ruled that Najib had failed to establish a prima facie case of contempt against the respondent, who now serves as a Federal Court judge.
“The leave is therefore dismissed with costs of RM20,000 to be paid by the applicant,” she said.
On May 21, Najib, 72, applied for leave to cite Ahmad Terrirudin for contempt of court, alleging that the former AG misled the court and suppressed the copy of the addendum order that would purportedly allow him to serve the remainder of his prison time under house arrest.
Prior to this application, Najib filed a judicial review on April 1 last year, where he sought the court’s mandamus order to compel the government and six others to confirm the royal addendum order’s existence.
In July 2024, the High Court dismissed the application for leave, on the grounds that it did not pass the threshold for leave and that Najib had relied on “hearsay” evidence.
The court today also ordered Najib to pay costs of RM20,000 to the respondent.
Loke also said there was no solid evidence showing that the respondent had personally acted as alleged, describing the allegations as “mere speculation”.
She also highlighted the applicant’s delay of a year in filing the contempt proceedings.
Najib's counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said an appeal would be filed against the decision. – September 4, 2025
