KUALA LUMPUR – Senior political figures Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi have agreed to withdraw their respective defamation suits against each other, bringing an end to a years-long legal dispute between the two veteran leaders.
The legal feud centred on Zahid’s past remarks suggesting Mahathir’s birth name included “Iskandar Kutty” – a racial slur-laden claim that questioned the former prime minister’s Malay identity – and Mahathir’s counterclaim accusing Zahid of trying to influence his criminal court proceedings.
Both leaders said that the dispute no longer stood, and the resolution was aimed at strengthening unity and upholding the integrity of Malaysia’s judiciary and constitutional principles.
In proceedings before the Kuala Lumpur High Court today, both parties confirmed they would not pursue their claims further and agreed not to refile the suits. Zahid also dropped a contempt of court application against Mahathir, which had stemmed from a press conference held during the trial.
The mutual resolution was recorded by judicial commissioner Gan Techiong, who struck out all related matters with no order as to costs. According to reports, lawyers for both sides expressed gratitude to the court for handling the case with professionalism and care.
The suits were tied to long-standing political tensions between the former prime minister and former Umno president, and the current deputy prime minister, who currently heads Umno and Barisan Nasional.
Mahathir, now 100, sued Zahid in July 2022 over the “Kutty” remarks, which were made at a Umno division meeting in Kelana Jaya in 2017 and widely circulated online via Astro Awani’s YouTube channel and other news outlets.
Zahid, in turn, filed his own defamation suit in April 2022, alleging that Mahathir had falsely accused him of attempting to use political influence to interfere in his ongoing criminal trials. The claim centred on Mahathir’s speech at a Pejuang event on February 23, 2022, just before the Johor state election. The speech was livestreamed and widely shared.
Both sides have now acknowledged that their past statements had caused confusion and misperceptions.
In a joint statement delivered in court by their lawyers, Zahid acknowledged that Mahathir’s official name is Mahathir bin Mohamad as registered with the National Registration Department, and withdrew any reference to the so-called “Iskandar Kutty” identity, which he said was based on information from the department’s former director-general.
Mahathir, for his part, did not dispute that his 2022 remarks regarding Zahid’s court cases were based on third-party information, made when he no longer held public office. He also withdrew any insinuation that Zahid had sought to halt criminal proceedings through backdoor channels. – July 22, 2025