The Alor Star High Court has ordered a top blogger and editors of an opposition newspaper to pay damages over libel claims by a university head, reports said today.

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.

raja petra dang wangi 250707The High Court made the decision yesterday after Raja Petra and the opposition party PKR's newspaper, which also published the story, failed to file a defence, the official Bernama news agency said.

It ordered Raja Petra to pay RM4 million to Nordin and the university, while two editors of Suara Keadilan had to pay RM3 million.

Raja Petra said the offending item was merely a letter written to him by a former student representative and that he would not pay the compensation.

"I am just going to take the stand of civil disobedience," the 57-year-old told AFP after the High Court's decision yesterday.

"Nordin Kadir's win does not reflect any justice. He went to the football field and our team did not show up so he shot all the goals by himself."

The defendants decided not to mount a defence and did not appear in court.

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.

Inspiring others

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.

Ahiruddin Atan, president of the National Alliance of Bloggers, warned the judgement against Raja Petra would send a negative signal to online commentators.

"Now everyone who tries to practise freedom of speech or some form of press freedom would be affected by this default judgement," he told AFP.

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders ranks Malaysia 124 out of 169 on its worldwide press freedom index.