KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 14): In what appeared to be a tit-for-tat legal action, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said that he initiated a lawsuit against Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for commenting on his Indian ancestry because the deputy prime minister had sued him first.

On the stand on Monday, the 99-year-old former prime minister said that the separate legal action against him, which Zahid had filed in April 2022, was one of the many factors which resulted in his current legal action.

Zahid's counsel Mohd Shahrul Fazli Kamarulzaman: You are suing Zahid, because he sued you first?

Mahathir: That is one of the reasons. The main reason is that what he said was a lie.

The two politicians are locked in two differing defamation suits where they are suing each other. Mahathir's testimony on Monday is a part of his suit against the DPM's comments, which Mahathir claims implied that he was not born as a Malay or a Muslim with the alleged original name of "Mahathir s/o Iskandar Kutty".

Mahathir claims that Zahid's comments made in 2017 painted him as an opportunist, where he proclaimed to be Malay only to gain political and personal favour, and had a skewed view of the Indian community.

The other lawsuit involving the two leaders is Zahid's suit against the two-time prime minister over comments that Mahathir had made — claiming that Zahid had sought his help to resolve criminal cases that the Umno chief was facing at that time. The suit was filed in April 2022, and the trial has yet to begin.

During proceedings on Monday, Mohd Shahrul pointed out that although Zahid's comments were made in 2017, it took Mahathir nearly five years to initiate a lawsuit. The lawyer added that Mahathir's suit was filed in July 2022, a few months after Zahid had initiated his suit.

The lawyer questioned the length of time, as defamation suits are a "different animal", as reputations are at stake and swift action is needed to rectify the situation.

However, Mahathir contended that the impact of Zahid's comments had percolated over the years and persisted over time, resulting in people asking him about the comments even to this day.

"I don't take up cases like this, but I decided to take action due to his [legal action] against me. I have a right to take action for his insult against me. Sometimes, we remember things even after five years," Mahathir said, adding that as Zahid is the DPM, his words carry weight.

Mahathir argued that Zahid's comments had resulted in electoral losses for the political parties which he had led. The former medical doctor said that although he won in the 2018 general election and went on to become the prime minister for the second time, his former party, Bersatu, suffered losses.

He said this was apparent in the 2018 election, in which his then party contested in 52 seats, but only clinched 13. He added that from 2018 to 2022, he was consumed with duties of the premiership, and that Zahid's comments were a personal issue. He argued that people were still asking him about Zahid's comments, and it had impacted his election performance, with the result being his abysmal showing in the 2022 election.

In 2018, Mahathir contested the Langkawi seat, winning 44.4% or a majority of 8,893 votes. However, he failed to defend the seat in 2022, coming in fourth in a five-cornered fight. He only secured 6.8% or 4,566 votes and lost his deposit. The loss was Mahathir’s first electoral defeat in 53 years.

In this trial, Mahathir is represented by Mior Nor Haidir Suhaimi and Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali.

Mahathir is seeking general, exemplary, and aggravated damages from Zahid, and an injunction barring Zahid or his agents from repeating the making of such claims.

The trial before Judicial Commissioner Gan Techiong continues on Wednesday.

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