KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 6): Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s defamation lawsuit against former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been rescheduled to October next year.
Mahathir’s lawyer Mior Nor Haidir Suhaimi said deputy registrar Afidah Idris fixed four days of hearing beginning Oct 17, 2024, during a case management on Monday.
A new judge will be appointed to the case as the existing judge, Rozana Ali Yusoff, was transferred to Penang two months ago. Rozana had previously fixed four days of hearing starting Monday with Zahid expected to take the witness stand.
Zahid filed the suit against Dr Mahathir in April 2022 over the then Parti Pejuang Tanah Air chairman's claim, during the Johor state election in February 2022, that Zahid met him in 2018 and 2019 to discuss the Umno president's criminal case. Zahid has denied the claim.
Dr Mahathir has said in his statement of defence that the Umno president had met him on June 6 and Sept 13, 2018 at the Perdana Leadership Foundation, and then on Feb 23 and Feb 24, 2020 at the former prime minister's residence at the Mines Resort, and again on Feb 25, 2020 at the Prime Minister's Office.
"It is true that in those meetings, Ahmad Zahid did mention his court case. Those things happened. Hence, such statements should not be considered as defamatory," Mahathir said, adding that there was no ill intention in him making the comments, which resulted in the suit being filed against him.
Zahid, in reply to Mahathir's defence last year, denied that he met the veteran politician to discuss his criminal case in June 2018 as he had not been charged or investigated yet.
The Umno president added that the meetings in June 2018 and after that were related to Umno, where Mahathir served as president from 1982 to 2004.
Zahid questioned how he could have discussed his court case in front of other senior Umno leaders who accompanied him when he had yet to be investigated or charged at that time.