Defamation suit: Dr M claims Zahid deliberately raised racial issues

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has claimed that Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi deliberately raised racial issues in addition to damaging his reputation as an influential political figure in the eyes of the world.

Dr Mahathir, 97, as the plaintiff, said his ancestry does not make him ‘less Malay’ or ‘non-Malay’.

“This was also brought up by the defendant (Ahmad Zahid) only after I was no longer with Umno, which clearly shows the defendant’s motives and bad intentions,” claimed Dr Mahathir in response to Ahmad Zahid’s defence statement, which was filed on Sept 8.

Dr Mahathir filed a lawsuit against Ahmad Zahid, 69, on July 20 for allegedly issuing defamatory statements regarding the ‘kutty’ issue.

The Langkawi MP also claimed that the former deputy prime minister indeed had malice when he slandered him by calling him ‘Mahathir son of Iskandar Kutty’ without making any inquiry into his background or ancestry.

Dr Mahathir claimed that the defendant also failed to take appropriate and reasonable measures to obtain explanations from him before making the slanderous statement.

In his statement of claim, Dr Mahathir claimed that Ahmad Zahid had issued a defamatory statement against him during the Umno divisional meeting in Kelana Jaya on July 30, 2017, and the statement was reproduced on Astro Awani’s YouTube and several online news portals, which can be accessed by internet users without any restrictions.

He claimed that the slanderous statement meant that he was not born as a Malay or a Muslim with the alleged original name of ‘Mahathir son of Iskandar Kutty’ and that he claimed to be a Malay when he became Prime Minister to gain political and personal advantage apart from belittling Malaysians of Indian Muslim descent.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid in his statement of defence filed on Aug 17 through Messrs Shahrul Hamidi & Haziq, denied that the statement made on July 30, 2017 was malicious to slander and harm the reputation of the plaintiff in the public eye.

The Umno president claimed that the name ‘Mahathir son of Iskandar Kutty’ refers to an individual based on the information in an old copy of an identity card, in addition to claiming that he also has no control over any video publication regarding his statement on the media platform.

Dr Mahathir’s counsel Mior Nor Haidir Suhaimi when contacted by Bernama yesterday said during the proceedings before Deputy Registrar Nor Afidah Idris via e-Review, the court fixed Nov 7 for further case management.