Zahid gets leave to launch contempt proceeding against Dr M

Summary

• Kuala Lumpur High Court grants Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi leave to commence commital proceedings over ex-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Dec 5 presser.

• The press conference was over Mahathir’s court testimony in a defamation suit against Zahid.

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad now faces the risk of a jail term and fine if found liable for contempt of court.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court today granted leave to Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to commence committal proceedings against Mahathir.

The contempt of court bid is over a Dec 5 press conference, where Mahathir explained his court testimony in his civil defamation suit against Zahid (above, right).

The ongoing civil court action was over the alleged existence of an identity card (IC) bearing the name “Mahathir anak lelaki Iskandar Kutty”.

When contacted this afternoon, Zahid’s counsel Shahrul Fazli Kamarulzaman confirmed that judicial commissioner Gan Techiong gave leave for the commencement of the committal proceedings.

The deputy prime minister’s legal team will serve the committal papers on Mahathir’s lawyers, and the civil court will set a case management of the matter.

After being served, Mahathir would be given the opportunity to rebut the contempt bid.

Committal proceedings are carried out over alleged actions or statements that could potentially disrupt the fair trial of ongoing court cases.

When contacted by Malaysiakini, Mahathir’s counsel Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali said they were not aware of the contempt bid, and that they would respond accordingly when served with Zahid’s cause papers.

Zahid’s 2017 remark against Dr M

Via the lawsuit, Mahathir claimed that Zahid’s 2017 remark over the alleged IC was defamatory as it was a political manoeuvre which was vicious, malicious, a bad bluff, and a lie.

The 99-year-old claimed that the allegation was meant to undermine the plaintiff as a then-opposition figure in the lead-up to the 14th general election in 2018. Mahathir clinched the Langkawi parliamentary seat that year for a single term.

The plaintiff alleged that the remark implied he exploited the Malays for political and personal gain.

Mahathir claimed Zahid had shown an alleged copy of the “Kutty” IC via a smartphone screen.

In his statement of defence, then-home minister Zahid denied that his 2017 remark was malicious, slanderous, or harmed Mahathir’s public reputation.

Zahid claimed the name on the IC referred to an individual based on an old copy of an identity document.

The 71-year-old also claimed he had no control over subsequent videos published on media platforms, which referred to his statement.

Filed three years ago, Mahathir’s civil action targeted Zahid’s speech at the Kelana Jaya Umno party division meeting on July 30, 2017.

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