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A Malaysian court has ordered a top blogger and editors of an
opposition newspaper to pay damages over libel claims by a
university head, reports said Thursday.
University Utara Malaysia and its
vice-chancellor Nordin Kardi filed a lawsuit against Raja Petra
Kamaruddin, who runs the Malaysia Today website, over an item that
alleged Nordin had plagiarised an article.
The high court made the decision Wednesday after
Raja Petra and the opposition party Keadilan's newspaper, which also
published the story, failed to file a defence, the official Bernama
news agency said.
It ordered Raja Petra to pay 4.0 million ringgit
(1.25 million dollars) to Nordin and the university, while two
editors of "Suara Keadilan" had to pay 3.0 million ringgit.
Malaysia's blogs and alternative news websites
have become popular because some people believe the mainstream
press, which is mostly linked to the government, is biased.
Alternate news was read avidly ahead of March 8
elections that handed the ruling coalition its worst ever results in
its half-century reign over Malaysia.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said this
week that his "biggest mistake" was to ignore
cyber-campaigning, and the new information minister has said he will
reach out to bloggers.
Previously, they had been vilified as
"liars" and threatened with detention without trial under
internal security laws.
However, Nordin said his victory would inspire
others, including politicians, to take legal action against people
who abuse blogs.
"Maybe I will not get the money because
they cannot afford it, but I am satisfied because this case proves
there is an avenue in the form of civil action against bloggers who
hurl slander," he told Bernama.
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders ranks
Malaysia 124 out of 169 on its worldwide press freedom index.
-- AFP
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