Kuala Lumpur: Dr Mahathir Mohamad has accused deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi of lying when using the name "Kutty" to refer to him.
Mahathir said that no identity card (IC) with that name has ever been issued to him.
"From the time of my birth until I became a medical doctor, no one has ever called me by that name," the 99-year-old told the High Court here today.
He said the name had "never appeared anywhere" until Zahid claimed he had a copy of an old blue IC bearing the name "Mahathir son of Iskandar Kutty".
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The trial, which began today, was initially scheduled for Feb 13. It was postponed after Mahathir was admitted to the National Heart Institute (IJN) and certified unfit to attend the proceedings.
Mahathir is suing Zahid over the latter’s alleged use of the name Kutty, which the former prime minister said was intended as a derogatory reference to him.
In his statement of claim, Mahathir alleged that Zahid defamed him through the derogatory use of the name Kutty at an Umno divisional meeting in Kelana Jaya, in Selangor, on July 30, 2017.
He claims the statement was meant to imply that he was not born a Malay or Muslim, and that his original name was "Mahathir son of Iskandar Kutty".
In his defence, Zahid said that the name referred to an individual based on information contained in a copy of an old identity card.
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