KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - A Malaysian court has ordered a top blogger and editors of an opposition newspaper to pay damages over libel claims by a university head, reports said Thursday.

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.

The high court made the decision Wednesday after Raja Petra and the opposition party Keadilan's newspaper, which also published the story, failed to file a defence, the official Bernama news agency said.

It ordered Raja Petra to pay 4.0 million ringgit ($1,732,000) to Nordin and the university, while two editors of "Suara Keadilan" had to pay 3.0 million ringgit.

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.

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.

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