Lawsuits in negligence cases should be considered more serious than defamation cases, Malayan Nurses Union general secretary Anne Khoo said today.

"In negligence, it is a person's life that is at stake. He is subjected to a life that he did not ask for. How do you compare a person's life to one's pride and reputation being defamed?" she told malaysiakini .

Khoo was commenting on a statement by Health Minister Chua Jui Meng that there should be a distinction between a defamation case and a negligence case as the former is committed with malice while the latter is unintentional.

He also said that patients have the right to sue the government and public hospitals for negligence, but should not seek ridiculous and "politicised" figures.

"I think the minister's statements are ridiculous. He does not seem to be talking through his senses. Even when the patient files a million-ringgit negligence lawsuit, it is still up to the court to decide how much he should be awarded," Khoo said.

Meanwhile, veteran journalist M.G.G. Pillai, when contacted today said that Chua was talking "dogs and cats" with his statements on negligence lawsuits.

"Is reputation more important than life? How do you put a value to life?" Pillai asked.

He added that while he had no objections to multi-million ringgit defamation lawsuits, it should be clear that the amount stated in the claim should be for special damages and not general damages.

"The laws says that you can't state the amount for general damages. The court will decide the amount and you do not need to prove it. But you can state your claims for special damages where you will have to show evidence on the amount of loss," he said.

But Pillai noted that the trend now is for the plaintiff to state multi-million ringgit claims for general damages, which is not right under existing laws.

"This trend began after the lawsuit by (Berjaya Group's chief) Vincent Tan against me. Tan told the court that he wanted RM20 million in general damages. He was then awarded damages without having to prove anything.

"Using that case, the people are now making multi-million ringgit general claims without going into the merits of the case since they don't have to prove the loss in general damages," Pillai added.

Pillai was sued by Tan for an article he wrote in the Malaysian Industry magazine about the business tycoon's media ambitions. High Court judge Mokhtar Sidin in 1994 ordered Pillai to pay Tan RM10 million in damages.

Pillai has been waiting for a Federal Court judgement on his appeal for more than 30 months.

In a recent judgement, Chua was awarded RM3 million after he sued a businessman and a retired lawyer who accused him of being corrupt.

High Court judge R. K. Nathan ruled that the words published in China Press and Shin Min Daily News on Aug 3, 1994, were calculated to discredit and disparage Chua in his office as the then deputy international trade and industry minister by implying that he had built a RM1.5 million bungalow and obtained other valuables through corrupt means.