KUALA LUMPUR (April 17): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is prepared to answer Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's allegation, that he had slandered the former prime minister, in court.
Anwar, represented by Messrs Thomas Philips, told Mahathir in a letter dated Monday (April 17) that Anwar has denied all allegations that Mahathir made against him in a letter of demand (LOD) dated March 27.
"Our client is prepared to answer the allegations made in the letter of demand, if any, not through correspondence but in court, if Dr Mahathir wants to continue with the legal proceedings.
"This firm is also instructed to receive any cause papers on the matter," Messrs Thomas Philip said in response to the LOD that was issued by Mahathir's lawyers, Messrs Law Practice of Rafique.
When contacted by The Edge, lawyer Aliff Benjamin Suhaimi from Messrs Thomas Philip confirmed sending the letter late on Monday afternoon.
In his LOD, Mahathir had given Anwar seven days to either provide proof to back his statement, which Mahathir believed was accusing him of enriching himself and his family when he was in government, or to withdraw his statement and apologise.
Anwar made the disputed remark at the PKR congress last month, where he said someone who was in power for “22 years and 22 months” hoarded riches for his or her family and children.
While he did not name anyone in the speech, Mahathir's lawyers, in the LOD, said Anwar's statement had clearly referred to the 97-year-old Mahathir.
Mahathir, in a social media post on Monday, questioned who was the one who wanted to pick a fight in the first place.
"He slandered me in various ways for decades. At that time, when asked to show evidence, he did not show a single piece of evidence even though he heard the story that he had boxes of evidence in his possession.
"I did not take legal action then, as I considered his actions were that of someone desperate who wanted too much to become the prime minister. However, now that he has become the PM, he has continued to slander me.
"I asked him to retract (the statement) to avoid legal action. That is what I did. Now, who is picking a fight?" Dr Mahathir asked.