PETALING JAYA, July 4 — The High Court’s interim gag order on the media covering the corruption case of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is unnecessary as Malaysia doesn’t have a jury system, Syahredzan Johan asserted today.

The political secretary to DAP’s Lim Kit Siang argued further that the gag only serves to "punish” local media by limiting its coverage of the high-profile case that is of national and global interest.

"This is a high-profile case, which gets the attention of the whole world. A gag order is in conflict with media freedom and will only punish local media and not foreign media due to the court’s limited jurisdiction,” Syahredzan, who is also a lawyer, said in a statement.

He pointed out that the right to freedom of speech is enshrined in Article 10 (1) (a) of the Federal Constitution.

He was responding to the court order granted at the request of lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah to prohibit the media from reporting on the merits of Najib’s case after the latter was charged with criminal breach of trust and power abuse while prime minister and finance minister over funds linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Syahredzan also said media reports on the case would not prevent Najib from getting a fair trial as Malaysia does not have a jury system.

"I am convinced that Datuk Seri Najib Razak will be dealt with fairly by the Court based on the statements submitted in the Court, rather than influenced by media reports,” he said.

Notwithstanding his disagreement with the court decision, Syahredzan said the terms of the interim media gag order must be stated clearly to ensure that all news outlets understand its limits.