Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recently took legal action to sue for damages in a defamation suit, and was cross-examined for six hours ("Blogger cross-examines PM for 6 hours"; July 2).

With his special position as prime minister, I can imagine the huge pressure Mr Lee went through and I respect him for choosing to face this stress for the sake of Singapore.

We have to look at the big picture.

It was not just Mr Lee who was defamed; Singapore's name is also at stake.

We were lucky that former prime ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong took action to sue those who intentionally defamed them.

The knowledge that our leaders are of high integrity explains why investors have confidence and peace of mind when investing and doing business with Singapore.

We must maintain this practice of clarifying defamation in court, to ensure Singapore continues to be successful.

Sim Lim Onn