Najib: Ling had acted recklessly to tarnish my image

KUALA LUMPUR: Former MCA president, Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik had acted recklessly with malicious intention to tarnish the image and the reputation of the Prime Minister, said Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.
Dr Ling had not acted in "bona fide" (good faith) or as an "elder statesman", claimed Najib in his 32-page written reply and defence to Dr Ling's counterclaim, which was filed on Jan 12, 2016.

Najib had filed a defamatory suit against Dr Ling over an article, which appeared in an online news portal on Oct 27, 2015. Najib said Dr Ling made the defamatory statements against him at a function in a college.
Dr Ling filed a counterclaim on Dec 14, last year, claiming Najib's suit was an abuse of the court process.
"It is clear that the defendant (Dr Ling) had acted recklessly with "mala fide" (in bad faith) to tarnish the image and reputation of the plaintiff (Najib)."
"The defendant, being the longest serving former president of MCA, should not utter such defamatory words without prior reference to the plaintiff," stated the document.
Najib said Dr Ling is an "elder statesman" and should have acted prudently to call on all parties to act responsibly by giving time to the competent agencies and bodies, which are recognised by Parliament to carry out and complete their investigations with integrity.
He said Dr Ling should not over-ride the authority of the agencies by releasing such defamatory words.
"The defendant, in claiming to be an "elder statesman" should be mature enough and responsible in dealing with the repercussions of his own actions," said Najib, in his defence.
Najib denied that he filed the action to make Dr Ling a "scapegoat" or collateral damage as part of a scheme to justify his act of receiving money, as claimed.
The premier said he has the right to defend his "dignity and reputation" by instituting an action against the "slanderer" as provided by the law.
Najib, who alleged that there was a malicious intention on the part of Dr Ling, said the former cabinet minister, who had no legal obligation to issue the statement to journalists, proceeded recklessly to utter the words, when the opportunity came.
He said Dr Ling did not take any steps to verify and obtain prior comment from him and that there was no urgency for him (Dr Ling) to issue the words, without waiting for the completion of the investigation.
On Monday, the case came up for a case management before High Court judge John Louis O'Hara.
The lawyers for both parties agreed that the matter should go through mediation.
The decision on whether the mediation succeeds or fails will be informed to the judge, on the next case management date, which is on Feb 18.