YOURSAY ‘Najib has once again proven himself to be truly a false democrat.’

Najib, Umno sue Mkini over readers' comments

Vijay47: From the little law I know, a person can sue someone whose comments reduced him in the eyes of the world and brought him into public shame, odium and scandal, or gobbledygook like that.

So I assume, Najib Abdul Razak, that you have to first establish in court that you enjoy high esteem, honour and affection, since merely being a prime minister is no assurance of such lofty regard, as Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe can testify to.

You will allege that Malaysiakini ’s coverage of the shameful events in Terengganu blemished your standing. It is also your right when you choose to sue, since past words cannot justify present statements.

Reading the many comments, one underlying sentiment is painfully evident: acute regret. Regret that you, the prime minister of the country we are citizens of, allowed matters to worsen each day to what we have today.

Yet you want to sue. So be it. But within all this lurks a large cupboard with huge skeletons.   I am sure Malaysiakini editor-in-chief Steven Gan and Gang are eagerly awaiting. Me too, with bated breath.

Dire Straits: Excuse me, but are we talking here about that "internationally acclaimed" but "modestly" silent PM of Malaysia (who, in reality, represents just a minority - 47 percent - of Malaysians) suing a rare, independent Malaysian news portal, Malaysiakini , for publishing their readers' free and frank comments and opinions?

Is this that little, self-proclaimed world's best democracy we are living in?

CQ Muar: Countless fingers were also pointed at Najib and his close aides over the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu. Why didn't he resort to legal proceedings?

And Altantuya was only one of the many issues. To be an honourable prime minister, Najib should never have resorted to such a degrading and disgraceful act by unleashing his power against Malaysiakini , in which comments are almost always true as opposed to all those dirty lies and garbage published by Utusan Malaysia .

At this juncture, Malaysiakini needs to highlight this matter and rally for support from international journalists organisations, and expose what a shameful PM we have as the leader of this country.

By God's grace, Malaysiakini must emerge victorious and triumphant. Henceforth, Malaysiakini will double its readership.

Oriole: Obviously, the BN government is even less savvy about its image building. Any dominant and powerful elite that has attempted to bully small players always earned public disdain and condemnation.

History will judge you, Najib and Umno. So go ahead and sue a most popular news media in your anxiety to display your power.

Keturunan Malaysia: Malaysiakini is a very rare news website that allows its subscribers to rightfully and reasonably say what they mean and mean what they say.

Trying to shut it up is akin to turning deaf ears to the legitimate woes and grievances of good Malaysian citizens.

Commentable: Reading from most of the comments posted here, Najib and Co have made a grave mistake. The suit against Malaysiakini is tantamount to a direct challenge to right-thinking Malaysians.

Malaysiakini only published the opinions of the general public and as such, instead of shooting the messenger, the PM should have addressed the issues at hand and quickly quelled public concerns by proactive engagement.

As a leader and head of government, Najib has to learn to act like one. He must remember that he has a legal and moral duty to be accountable to the public and not wait for the public to call for him to be accountable.       

Anon1: Why didn't they sue Facebook? There's no difference between publication of readers' comments on Malaysiakini and the postings by readers on Facebook. Both are publications.

So, if all of a sudden an FB page is created for readers to comment on this issue and a host of others (I'm not instigating anything), are the PM and Umno going to keep mum about that?

It appears that the PM/Umno are only affected by comments of Malaysiakini 's readers and nobody else. Or is this about silencing dissent, selective prosecution and/or curtailing the opinions of Malaysians?

Ipohcrite: By suing Malaysiakini , Najib has once again proven himself to be truly a false democrat.

He does not tolerate criticism from those whom he perceives to be with the opposition, but keeps absolutely silent in the face of severe criticism from prominent Umno figures and Malays.

He has been severely criticised and condemned by the likes of Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Zaid Ibrahim, in fact much worse than Malaysiakini , but hasn't got the gumption to do anything about it.

Bystander: Good on you, Malaysiakini . Now we can officially cross-examine in court all the dirt and filth related as to why and how the readers arrived with such comments of the PM.

We need very experienced lawyers to tear him apart during the cross-examination.  

Versey: Malaysiakini , all right-thinking Malaysians are with you. Should you need to raise money to fight the case, please let us know and I'm sure many will be willing to dig deep into their pockets.

Tholu: If the people cannot talk about the shortcomings of the government of the day; if the people cannot bring to the attention of the government incidents of unabated and unabashed corruption and blatant abuse of power; if the people cannot give suggestions as to how social, economical and political issues should be dealt with; then the present government might as well abjure the federal constitution and run an autocratic government with the leaders turning into dictators.

A strong leader who leads his people by principles of integrity, honesty, truthfulness, veracity, reliability and uprightness will not and should not feel threatened by the comments of ordinary and powerless people.

Neither should he wield his power on the hapless and sinless people who, in the first place, put these leaders up there.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now .