'Who's looking for a fight' - Dr M explains legal action against Anwar

The feud between Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim has raged for more than two decades and the pair is now poised for a court battle.

However, Mahathir said he was not the one itching for a fight with his heir-apparent turned nemesis.

He argued that it was Anwar who had hurled accusations against him for years but he had chosen to ignore them because he felt it was borne out of desperation.

However, Mahathir, who will celebrate his 98th birthday in July, said he could no longer turn a deaf ear to the allegations because Anwar is now the prime minister.

“He accused me of all sorts of things for decades. When asked to provide evidence, he could not show a single shred of proof even though there are tales of him having boxes of evidence.

“I did not take action (in the past) because I took it as the action of a man who desperately wanted to become the prime minister.

“But when he became the prime minister, he continued to accuse (me). So I asked him to retract (his statements) and if not, I will take legal action.

“That is what I have done. So who is looking for a fight?” he added in a social media post this morning.

Letter of demand

On April 7, Anwar said he did not wish to lock horns with Mahathir, but had no qualms in responding to the nonagenarian’s demand for proof with regard to the claims he made in his speech at the PKR national congress on March 18.

“He has asked for proof, I will give (him) proof, no problem,” the prime minister added.

Although he had not mentioned names in his speech, Mahathir claimed that the prime minister had implied that he had amassed wealth during his tenure in office to enrich his family.

Yesterday, in a response to Mahathir’s letter of demand, Anwar’s lawyers said their client denied the allegation but is prepared to face his predecessor in court.

Following this, Mahathir’s lawyer Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali confirmed that his client would proceed with legal action against Anwar.

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