Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has expressed urgency for his RM150 million defamation suit against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to be heard sooner, saying he wanted his name cleared without further delay.
The 100-year-old former premier noted that although he initially agreed to a short postponement requested by Anwar, the case has now been stretched over two years. He emphasised that the trial should not be dragged further as his advancing age meant time was not on his side.
Speaking after case management proceedings at the Shah Alam High Court, Mahathir said he decided to personally attend despite such appearances being rare for litigants. His presence, he explained, was due to a last-minute reassignment of judicial commissioners, with the newly appointed judge requiring time to review the matter.
Arriving at the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Court Complex in a grey suit, Mahathir entered the courtroom mid-morning under heightened security. Police checks were carried out at the main entrance, which was restricted to those directly involved in court business. His son, former Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, accompanied him and sat by his side in the public gallery during the brief session.
His lawyer, Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, sought to vacate the initial hearing dates, arguing that certain issues remained unresolved and further documents were still pending. Rafique urged the court to prioritise an earlier schedule, highlighting Mahathir’s age as a compelling reason. He proposed late September or mid-October as possible alternatives.
Anwar’s counsel, Ranjit Singh, raised no objection, acknowledging the reasonableness of the request given Mahathir’s circumstances. After considering both sides, Judicial Commissioner Datuk Donald Joseph Franklin fixed the trial to run on October 21, 23, and 29. All witness statements are required to be submitted by October 7, with a final case management session set for October 8.
The defamation claim stems from statements in which Mahathir alleges that Anwar had painted him as a racist and accused him of amassing wealth for himself and his family during his 22-year leadership. The former prime minister is demanding RM100 million in exemplary damages and RM50 million in general damages, in addition to a written apology. He also seeks a public press conference where the current prime minister would retract and apologise for the remarks.
For Mahathir, the priority remains a swift conclusion, as he underlined that the long-delayed proceedings should not be stretched any further.
Kamran (kfiverr21@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.
