GEORGE TOWN, Oct 6 — Lim Guan Eng today questioned Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s lawsuit threat against Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik and asked why the prime minister only appeared to be targeting the former MCA president and not Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the chief protagonist of the campaign to unseat him.
Lim, who is DAP secretary-general, pointed out that all Dr Ling had done last weekend was support statements made by Dr Mahathir.
“Why is he (Najib) not suing Dr Mahathir when Dr Ling was only repeating what Dr Mahathir said?” he asked.
Lim also demanded to know why Najib has yet to launch his proposed lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and the New York Times (NYT) over their reports containing allegations against him.
“If he say these reports are untrue, he should sue them,” he said.
Najib sent a legal letter to Dr Ling yesterday demanding that the latter withdraw and apologise over claims that he “took” public funds for himself.
In a letter from the Hafarizam Wan & Aisha Mubarak law firm that represents Najib, the prime minister accused Dr Ling of defamation in remarks by the latter published in news articles on Saturday.
“We have been instructed to take action and demand a retraction, unequivocal apology and reasonable compensation for the abovementioned defamatory statement regarding our client,” the letter read.
The article in question was one titled “MCA’s Liong Sik joins call for Najib’s ouster for allegedly putting people’s money in his own pocket” published by Malay Mail Online during the weekend.
In it, Dr Ling expressed agreement with former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s demand for Najib to resign as the prime minister alleged “has taken people’s money and put it in his own personal accounts.”
The 72-year-old also spoke out about his participation in the Perth edition of the Bersih 4 rally last August, organised by electoral reform group Bersih 2.0 to push for Najib’s resignation from office.
MCA has since distanced itself from Ling’s remarks, with secretary-general Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan categorising the statement as the former party president’s personal opinion.
