KUALA LUMPUR: Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is slated to testify in a defamation suit brought against him by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on May 14 last year.
The 99-year-old former prime minister filed the suit over the deputy prime minister's claims about his ancestry as he wanted to defend his reputation and name.
This was after the plaintiff concluded its case before High Court judicial commissioner Gan Techiong after calling Dr Mahathir and his son, Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, as their witnesses today.
Earlier, Mukhriz in his testimony said this case was more of a political issue than a personal attack.
"We established that both the defendant (Zahid) and my father are political leaders. Their influence is not limited to their constituencies but extends nationwide.
"During the 2014 General Election campaign, we carried Tun Mahathir's name to every area where Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) contested — not just Langkawi," he said.
On July 20, 2022, Dr Mahathir filed the suit, naming Zahid as the defendant.
His suit stated that the plaintiff genuinely believes that the defendant's reference in the alleged defamatory statement to "that person", "he" and "Mahathir, the son of Iskandar Kutty", explicitly referred to him.
Dr Mahathir said his status as a statesman and an influential political figure in the eyes of the world was also skewed as a result.
He claimed Zahid's statement made him out to be a liar, untrustworthy, selfish and unethical while holding public office and unfit to be a leader or public figure, he said.