KUALA LUMPUR: Former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who filed a lawsuit against Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, has been advised not to go overseas as the trial date approaches to ensure the proceedings can begin as scheduled.
Judicial Commissioner Gan Techiong gave the advice when the lawsuit had to be postponed again after Dr Mahathir was admitted to the National Heart Institute (IJN) for a cough.
Dr Mahathir's lawyer, Mior Nor Haidir Suhaimi informed the High Court that cardiologists from IJN did not permit his client to leave the hospital after he was warded on July 15, a day after he returned from London.
Mior Nor then applied for the trial on Friday (July 19) to be vacated as he presented the court with a letter from IJN.
It was supposed to be the first day of the trial after the initial proceedings on Feb 13 were postponed as Dr Mahathir was unwell and was given a medical certificate from IJN.
Gan acknowledged the authenticity of the IJN letter and expressed sympathy for Dr Mahathir's health issues.
However, he also reiterated the need to proceed with the trial, as it has been pending since 2022.
“When it is close to the (trial) dates, maybe you can advise him (Dr Mahathir) not to go overseas so that he can have a good rest and can attend the proceedings.
“We postponed it on Feb 13 and now we have to adjourn again today. We cannot keep adjourning for any reason,” he said.
He advised Mior Nor to recommend that his client avoid travelling overseas before the rescheduled trial dates of Aug 26 and 27.
The defence lawyer Mohamed Shahrul Fazli Kamarulzaman, also expressed sympathy for Dr Mahathir's condition and suggested that his son, Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, could be called to testify if the former premier is unable to attend the rescheduled trial.
The case had been delayed twice before, once in November 2023 due to a change in the presiding judge, and again in February this year when Dr Mahathir was unwell.
On July 20 last year, Dr Mahathir, now 99, filed a lawsuit against Ahmad Zahid, 70, as the sole defendant, for allegedly issuing defamatory statements regarding the "kutty" issue.
In his statement of claim, Dr Mahathir claimed that Ahmad Zahid had issued a defamatory statement against him during an Umno divisional meeting in Kelana Jaya on July 30, 2017, and the statement was reproduced on Astro Awani's YouTube and several online news portals, which can be easily accessed by Internet users without any restrictions.
Dr Mahathir claimed that the slanderous statement meant that he was not born as a Malay or a Muslim with the alleged original name of "Mahathir son of Iskandar Kutty" and that he claimed to be a Malay when he became prime minister to gain political and personal advantage apart from belittling Malaysians of Indian Muslim descent.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid in his statement of defence filed on Aug 17 last year through Messrs. Shahrul Hamidi & Haziq, denied that the statement made on July 30, 2017, was malicious and slanderous and harmed the reputation of the plaintiff in the public eye.
The Umno president claimed that the name "Mahathir son of Iskandar Kutty" refers to an individual based on the information in an old copy of an identity card, in addition to claiming that he also has no control over any video publication regarding his statement on the media platform.
