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Dr M sues Zahid for 'slandering' his ancestry in 2017
According to Berita Harian, Mahathir, 97, filed the lawsuit through Messrs Haidir & Co at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on July 20 and named Zahid, 69, as the sole defendant.
It was reported that in his statement of claim, Mahathir said Zahid...
Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has filed a defamation lawsuit against Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for allegedly slandering his ancestry back in 2017.
According to Berita Harian, Mahathir, 97, filed the lawsuit through Messrs Haidir & Co at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on July 20 and named Zahid, 69, as the sole defendant.
It was reported that in his statement of claim, Mahathir said Zahid issued a false, slanderous, and malicious statement deliberately referring to him during a speech Zahid made at the Kelana Jaya Umno division meeting on July 30, 2017.
A video recording of the speech, lasting two minutes and 41 seconds, was later published via the Youtube account of Astro Awani.
Other media also reported on the contents of the speech at the time, including Malaysiakini.
During the speech, Zahid, who was home minister at the time, dredged up a purported copy of Mahathir’s identity card (IC), which stated his name as “Mahathir a/l Iskandar Kutty”.
Zahid went on to claim that this shows the former premier has Indian ancestry and had used the Malays during his 22-year administration.
In his statement of claim, Mahathir said he believes the comments by Zahid were specifically and clearly referring to him.
He said Zahid’s remarks caused damage to his reputation as a statesperson and were intended to weaken his political influence.
The remarks also appear to belittle Malaysians with Muslim-Indian ancestry, Mahathir added.
Nauseating lies
The nonagenarian’s legal counsel Mior Nor Haidir Suhaimi said the next case management date has been set for Sept 13, 2022.
Zahid is being represented by lawyer Aina Dalila Daman Huri.
Mahathir said on May 17 that he was considering suing Zahid over the remarks as they were “nauseating lies”.
“I do not like to take people to court despite many having slandered me in the past because I know this is normal in politics.
“This time, however, I feel the need to act.
“Zahid’s lies are nauseating. Not only do they hurt my reputation, but it also is dangerous to allow him to continue lying to Umno supporters and the Malays just so he can remain in power,” Mahathir said.
Mahathir also previously said his birth certificate and identity card both state his name as Mahathir bin Mohamad, and that Zahid has never produced evidence to prove otherwise.
He also reiterated that he has never denied having Indian ancestry.
However, he stressed that his parents were both born in Malaya before Merdeka, and that the family spoke Malay and practised Malay culture.
Hence, he said, he fulfilled all constitutional requirements as per Article 160 to be a Malay.
Mahathir revived the 2017 issue in response to Zahid's defamation suit against him.
Zahid earlier sued Mahathir over the latter’s claim that Zahid met him to try and get on his good side as Zahid anticipated he would be facing criminal charges.
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