KUALA LUMPUR (July 21): Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has made a formal application through his lawyers with the High Court for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to furnish documents with regards to his allegations of nepotism and cronyism against Mahathir. 

In the RM150 million suit, Mahathir is seeking a court order (discovery application) for Anwar to provide 21 documents to back his allegations. 

Mahathir’s lawyers Muhammad Rafique Rashid and Akif Rusli filed the discovery application at a case management before Judicial Commissioner Zaharah Hussain at the High Court on Friday (July 21). 

The judicial commissioner then set dates for both Mahathir and Anwar’s camps to send in their written affidavits to the court, with a decision on October 2 as to whether Anwar needs to provide those documents or not. 

Anwar was represented by Aliff Benjamin Suhaimi and Phoebe Loi Yean Wei. 

Previously, Mahathir had on June 23 asked Anwar to furnish proof with regard to the allegations of nepotism and cronyism Anwar had made in his statement of defence. But this was opposed by Anwar.

“Since 1998, until the filing of his (Anwar’s) defence, the defendant has never shown any evidence of purported abuse of power or nepotism by the plaintiff (Mahathir). There is only repetition after repetition of his political slander script against me.”

“Hence, the defendant (Anwar) has directly and indirectly shown that he is a liar,” Mahathir said in a statement.

In the June 23 notice to Anwar, the 97-year-old politician had asked Anwar to provide 21 documents of proof to back his claims.

In a subsequent reply on June 27, Anwar’s solicitors from Messrs Thomas Philip objected to the notice, saying that some of the documents that Mahathir had asked for were not referred to in Anwar’s defence, and that the notice asking for the documents seemed vague, imprecise and amounted to a fishing expedition.

Mahathir had filed the RM150 million defamation suit against Anwar in May, over claims in a speech that Anwar made during the PKR Congress in March 2023, that “a leader of 22 years and 22 months” had enriched his family.