Actress and director, Ellie Suriati Omar (above) has denied starting a ruckus outside the courtroom where former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak was charged with corruption today.

The commotion had forced attorney-general Tommy Thomas to move a press conference he had planned regarding Najib's trial of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak to another venue.

Ellie was spotted among the dozens of Najib supporters who were chanting "Melayu" repeatedly when Thomas was about to start his press conference at Kuala Lumpur's Jalan Duta court complex.

"The attorney-general wanted to speak in English, (but) I wanted to hear him speak in Malay. He is the attorney-general, he should speak Bahasa Malaysia. But he spoke in English that's why everyone shouted 'Melayu'.

"I did not make any provocation. He was standing far from where I was standing, so maybe I said it loudly, but I spoke in the national language, Bahasa Malaysia. When we pressured him, he left," she said when contacted by Malaysiakini.

The heckling eventually forced Thomas to delay speaking to the press.

Ellie was among the 50 individuals later warned by police to leave the area.

She said she was not afraid of any possible repercussions from the police.

"Why take action against me, there were many of us. I didn't start (the incident)," she said.

After assuming the position of attorney-general earlier this month, Thomas (photo) had promised to brush up on his command of the national language.

He said decades as a private lawyer, specialising in commercial affairs, had led him to neglect his use of Bahasa Malaysia.

Earlier this morning, Najib claimed trial to one count of abusing his power as a public servant to receive gratification amounting to RM42 million.

He also faces three counts of criminal breach of trust over the same matter.

For each charge, he can be jailed for up to 20 years.