IPOH, Jan. 16 -- MCA National Civil Society Campaign Bureau Chief Ng Kian Nam today criticised the state Health, Consumers Affairs, Civil Society, National Integration and Human Resource Committee chairman A. Sivanesan for filing a lawsuit against a farmer in his own constituency.

"Our bureau holds onto the principle of common law Derbyshire, which prohibits public bodies from taking defamation action against individuals.

"They were chosen by the people, thus they should be open to public criticism under the freedom of speech, particularly in the cases involving state public policies," he said in a statement today.

The suit was also filed against another three defendants, namely the Star Media Group Berhad, a journalist from The Star a...