‘Man on the Run’ ranks second on Netflix Malaysia’s Top 10 Movies after Najib’s lawyer sought for its removal

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 — Netflix's Man on the Run documentary film jumped to the second spot on the streaming platform's Top 10 Movies in Malaysia after Datuk Seri Najib Razak's lawyer sought for it to be removed.

The documentary on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), which sheds light on the former prime minister's alleged links with fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho (Jho Low), premiered on January 5.

On January 8, Najib’s lead defence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah slammed the documentary as "extremely sub judice and contemptuous" and called for the film to be taken down from Netflix.

Following Shafee's call, the film that settled at the fourth spot on Sunday climbed to the second spot on Monday and continues to remain there.

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Directed by Cassius Michael Kim, Man on the Run narrates Jho Low's ploy to embezzle 1MDB funds to fuel his lavish lifestyle, which ranges from owning a superyacht to financing Leonardo DiCaprio's The Wolf of Wall Street film.

Low, who remains elusive to date, has an active Interpol Red Notice on his name.

In March 2023, a Kuwaiti court also sentenced him to 10 years' imprisonment in absentia on money laundering charges in March 2023.

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The 1 hour and 38 minutes film first premiered in cinemas in the United Kingdom and United States last September.

It was later released in cinemas in Singapore on October 5 and subsequently, entered Malaysian cinemas on October 19.

Netflix has not responded on the matter.

However, Kim reportedly told Deadline that Najib's claims about him being misled during an interview for the documentary was "patently false".