He questioned why activists and Pakatan Harapan politicians had not said anything about the ruling.

The former prime minister said if the Federal Court had handed down a similar ruling during Barisan Nasional’s administration, activists and Pakatan leaders would waste no time in condemning the decision and even label it oppressive and cruel, among others.

Najib said that he would have been blamed for it.

“Yet, until now, not a single Pakatan leader has commented on the court’s decision which has a huge impact,” the Pekan MP wrote on Facebook.

Earlier today, the Federal Court ruled that federal and state governments can sue individuals for defamation, refusing to accept the common law Derbyshire principle that public authorities cannot bring action against a person for lowering their reputation.

This legal principle was, however, adopted by the Court of Appeal when striking out suits by former Pahang menteri besar Adnan Yaakob and former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng against the media.

Najib pointed out that the government would have sufficient funds to file a legal suit against those who could not afford to defend themselves.

He said the United States, United Kingdom and Australia prohibited the government from suing its citizens for defamation.