KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 ― The Malaysian Bar was wrong to say Datuk Seri Najib Razak's had set a bad precedent by suing a news portal as it is the prime minister’s right to take action against any party that defames him, Utusan Malaysia said.

The Umno-owned Malay daily said there is nothing “abnormal” about the civil suit, as it is not uncommon for media practitioners to face legal action by those disputing the facts of their reports.

Awang Selamat, a pseudonym used to represent the collective voice of the paper’s editors, pointed out that Najib had first given Malaysiakini 48 hours to apologise and retract the articles he deemed as defamatory.

“But the portal decided not to meet the demands,” Awang said.

"Therefore, the court should be allowed to decide on the case.”

Bar Council president Christopher Leong had said last week that public figures — especially those holding high public office — and political parties should not resort to lawsuits to respond to allegedly defamatory criticism or comments as good governance and accountability requires that they “endure the full brunt of free speech”.

Leong said that Najib was suing Malaysiakini for "views and comments of the public to whom the prime minister is accountable and answerable", which consequentially sets a "bad precedent".

Awang disagreed, saying the Bar’s comments were “unnecessary” as the prime minister, like any other individual, has the right to defend himself against accusations.

The paper added that the Bar's position shows that it is "taking sides".

On May 30, Najib and his party 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 mentri besar saga.

The suit claims that the defendants had deliberately compiled the defamatory comments into the two articles, knowing full well the implications the articles would have against the plaintiffs.

Najib is seeking for a long list of damages against the news portal, apart from demanding a written apology to be published in a newspaper or magazine to be identified by the plaintiffs, and in words to be determined by the plaintiffs, among other claims.