KUALA LUMPUR: Dr Mahathir Mohamad has filed a RM150 million (US$33.8 million) defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim after the latter allegedly accused him of enriching himself while in power and calling him a racist.
In the statement of claim, the former prime minister said that Mr Anwar’s claims during his speech at a Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) congress in March were untrue and intended to damage his reputation and image.
Dr Mahathir said that Mr Anwar’s statements had tarnished his image as a statesman who was also twice a former prime minister and one that has a reputation as a respected leader throughout Malaysia and the world.
Dr Mahathir, 97, is seeking RM50 million in general damages and another RM100 million in exemplary damages.
The lawsuit was filed at the Shah Alam High Court on Wednesday (May 3).
In March, Mr Anwar is believed to have criticised certain former leaders of the country during a PKR special national congress held in Shah Alam.
Without mentioning any names, Mr Anwar at the political event alluded that a former leader – in his two stints as prime minister for “22 years and (another) 22 months” – had used his position to enrich himself, his family and his children.
Dr Mahathir was Malaysia’s prime minister from July 1981 to Oct 2003 and again from May 2018 to February 2020.
In his speech, Mr Anwar said that the leader only complained about Malays losing their dominance in the country after he was no longer in power.
In the statement of claim, Dr Mahathir said that as prime minister, Mr Anwar’s statement would get more media attention in and out of the country.
He also wanted Mr Anwar to retract all the alleged defamatory statements made against him and to apologise for the remarks.
Dr Mahathir had said on Mar 28 that Anwar had seven days to retract his statements.
In the 15th General Elections last year, Dr Mahathir failed to defend his Langkawi seat, losing his deposit after finishing fourth in a five-cornered fight.
It was his first electoral defeat in 53 years.
Mr Anwar was sworn in as prime minister on Nov 24 last year after the 15th General Election (GE15) failed to produce a clear winner.
He leads a unity government comprising his Pakatan Harapan coalition the previous ruling coalition BN, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Parti Warisan (Warisan).
In recent weeks, there have been reports regarding the stability of the Malaysian government.
Following this, Mr Anwar said that the parties in his unity government are strong enough to defend against any plot to topple the government.