KUALA LUMPUR – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s defamation suit against Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi over the latter’s alleged derogatory use of the name “Kutty” to refer to the ex-prime minister has been postponed again.
The trial, scheduled to commence at the high court here today until February 16, was postponed as a result of a request for medical leave by the 98-year-old extending until February 18.
Dr Mahathir’s lawyer Mior Nor Haidir Suhaimi said that the case will next be heard on July 19, August 26 to 27, and October 29 and 30, while confirming that the trial scheduled for today until Friday is postponed.
According to the court’s schedule, the trial was supposed to commence at 10am today before judicial commissioner Gan Techiong at the high court here.
Initially slated to start in September last year, the trial was rescheduled to February 13 to 16 this year due to the transfer of the previous presiding judge, Datuk Rozana Ali Yusoff, to Penang.
Meanwhile, Pejuang information chief and lawyer Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, who represented Dr Mahathir alongside Mior, told Scoop that the two-time former prime minister is currently receiving treatment at the National Heart Institute.
Mior had also told the court that Dr Mahathir had been admitted to the cardiac specialist hospital for the last two weeks.
The two-time former prime minister initiated the suit against the current deputy prime minister on July 20, 2022, in response to Zahid’s comment, referring to him as “Mahathir son of Iskandar Kutty” during a keynote speech at a Kelana Jaya Umno division meeting on July 30, 2017.
The suit, filed through Messrs Haidir & Co at the high court, names Zahid as the sole defendant. Dr Mahathir alleged that Zahid’s statement was false, slanderous, and malicious, intended to distort his status as a statesman and influential political figure.
The statement, Dr Mahathir said, was republished on Astro Awani’s YouTube channel and several online news sites, which were accessible by anyone with internet access.
He further claimed that the remarks aimed to tarnish his good reputation, portraying him as a liar, untrustworthy, and unethical person while holding public office.
Besides claiming that Zahid’s statement belittled Malaysians of Indian Muslim descent, the former Langkawi MP also said that the assertion has ruined his reputation as a responsible politician with the people’s interests in mind.
Additionally, Dr Mahathir requested the court to compel Zahid to issue an unconditional oral and written apology, cover costs, and grant other appropriate relief.
A month after Dr Mahathir initiated the suit, Zahid filed his statement of defence through Messrs Shahrul Hamidi & Haziq, denying any malicious intent to harm Dr Mahathir’s reputation.
Zahid claimed he was referring to an individual based on information from an old copy of an identity card, adding that he has no control over the republication of his statement on any media platform. – February 13, 2024