To most leaders in Pakatan Rakyat, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who reigned for more than two decades, is the epitome of malevolent politics.

Therefore it comes as a surprise when an opposition lawmaker labled someone to be much worse than Mahathir.

For PAS' Hanipa Maidin, current Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has outdone the Umno grandmaster with his penchant for dishing out legal letters against his opponents.

"Throughout Malaysia's history, this is the first time a PM has (threatened) to file defamation suits against his political opponents.

"As bad as Mahathir was, he did not sue, and as weak as Pak Lah (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) was, he did not sue either," Hanipa ( right ) told reporters.

However, the Sepang MP acknowledged the prime minister's right to seek legal redress.

"We respect his right to sue, we have no problem," he said.

What about NYT?

Hanipa, who is PAS legal bureau chief, was responding to Najib's letter of demand to party organ Harakah over a report on 1Malaysia Development Bhd and his stepson Reza Aziz.

On the same note, the lawyer asked why the prime minister has not threatened to sue others, such as The New York Times and Sarawak Report , which also reported issues on 1MDB.

"A French newspaper in 2009 accused him of being involved in (the murder of Mongolian national) Altantuya (Shaariibuu). Why haven't they been sued yet? That's also a big issue.

"If Najib said he will sue to protect his and his family's good name, if he really wants to do that, he also has to protect his name as the prime minister.

"He must clear his name at the international level as well," Hanipa said.