As for Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the deputy prime minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, said he was lying since no one had ever called the previous prime minister 'Mahathir son of Iskandar Kutty', as reported by Malaysia Kini.
The plaintiff informed the Kuala Lumpur High Court that he was never in possession of an identity card (IC) bearing such a name.
"I know (Zahid's claim) is untrue because no IC (identity card) bears that name. No one has ever called me Mahathir a/l Iskandar Kutty, not since I was born, not since I started college, and not until I became a doctor.
"Zahid is lying here. Wan Tempawan Wan Hanapi is my mother, and Mohamad bin Iskandar is my father.
"My father is a Malay from Penang, where my forefathers are blood relatives from Kerala, a state in southern India. At today's defamation suit hearing, the leader—who celebrated his 99th birthday last month—stated, "My mother is from Kedah and each is of true Malay descent."
He stated that on July 30, 2017, the Umno president made the remark during the Umno meeting for the Kelana Jaya district.
Mahathir asserted that Zahid had displayed a copy of the plaintiff's former identity card, on which his name was purportedly "Mahathir a/l Iskandar Kutty," during the speech.
Furthermore, he asserted that Zahid's remarks suggested that people questioned and challenged his ability to lead the nation and a party that values Malays in general.
Zahid refuted claims in his defense statement that Mahathir's reputation was damaged or that the speech was malicious or defamatory.
Based on the details in the outdated identity card copy, the Member of Parliament for Bagan Datuk asserted that the name "Mahathir, son of Iskandar Kutty" refers to the specific person.
The defendant argues that he has no influence over the video's release on the media platform pertaining to his remarks.
Judicial Commissioner (JC), Gan Techiong, presided over the trial. Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali acted on behalf of Mahathir, while Shahrul Hamidi and the Haziq law firm represented Zahid.
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