22-07-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Dr M, Zahid end mutual defamation suits over ancestry, corruption claims
KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has withdrawn his defamation suit against Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi over remarks related to his ancestry.
Mohamed Shahrul Fazli Kamarulzaman, who represented Zahid, also informed the court that his client wished to withdraw a separate defamation suit against Mahathir, for claiming the former sought the latter's help to drop his corruption charges.
On April 20, 2022, Zahid, in his statement of claim, alleged that Dr Mahathir had defamed him when the latter claimed that Zahid sought his help to drop his corruption cases in court.
He claimed Dr Mahathir made such statements during his campaign in the Johor state election campaign at Yayasan Kepimpinan Perdana on Feb 23.
On July 20, the same year, Dr Mahathir filed another defamation suit, naming Zahid, who is also the Umno president, as the defendant over the latter's reference to him as having Indian ancestry and allegedly using a Malay identity only for political gain.
