Don’t be judgemental and partisan over PM’s civil suit, Malaysian Bar told

0

Mohd Shafie (second left) having a light moment with Loyalty Service Award recipients during the event. — Bernama photo

ALOR GAJAH: Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie has described the Malaysian Bar’s criticism of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s civil suit against Malaysiakini as being judgemental and partisan.

“Listen to the case first, don’t be judgmental. Look in-depth into the facts and arguments before coming to a conclusion,” he told reporters after launching the Community Development Department’s (Kemas) Educators’ Day here yesterday.

Malaysian Bar president Christopher Leong was quoted as saying that the prime minister had set a bad precedent in filing a civil suit against the news portal for publishing allegedly defamatory views by its readers, stressing the need for public figures to be fully accountable for their actions.

On May 30, Najib  and  Umno  filed a civil suit against Malaysiakini and its top-two editors over a series of readers’ posts published on the website related to the recent Terengganu menteri besar saga.

Mohd Shafie, who is also Umno vice-president, said the Bar Council protected the rights of only one party, but not that of the prime minister, and resorted to uncalled for insinuations.

On the Johor Housing and Real Property Board enactment, Mohd Shafie said the proposed Bill had to be examined in depth due to negative implications, especially to the Sultan of Johor.

“We have to avoid untoward implications if the people were to disagree and dispute certain decisions made by the board. The disagreements can be misconstrued as going against the royal decree and put the administration in a turmoil,” he said. — Bernama