KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should sue everyone, including international media, who have made allegations against him linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and not just select individuals, former MCA president Tan Sri Ong Tee Keat said today.

Speaking to reporters at an event in Seri Kembangan, Ong said he was surprised that Najib would take such action against another former MCA president Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik as the prime minister had refrained from mounting legal challenges against others who made similar claims.

“He has every right to sue and if he feels the remark is some form of defamation, then going by this standard, why did he not do the same to others who made similar remark, sometimes more scathing?” the former transport minister said.

“There has been numerous press reports, some from international media. Would he then initiate legal action against them as well?”

When asked if Najib should also take legal action against former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for his repeated calls for resignation, Ong said, “Yes”.

Najib has threatened to sue Dr Ling for suggesting in an article over the weekend that he misappropriated the public funds.

In the letter of demand 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 a news report on Saturday, and urged the MCA man to apologise or face legal action.

Dr Ling had reportedly expressed agreement with former prime minister Dr Mahathir's demand for Najib to resign, claiming the prime minister “has taken people’s money and put it in his own personal accounts.”

Yesterday, Dr Ling said he stood by his remarks and that he accepted the challenge of Najib’s threatened lawsuit.

Najib was allegedly implicated in corruption investigations into 1MDB after US-based Wall Street Journal reported in July that US$700 million was funnelled through several entities linked to the state-owned firm and into the prime minister’s personal bank accounts ahead of Election 2013.