KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he was not ashamed of his Indian ancestry but emphasised that this does not change the fact that he is a Malay.
The 99-year-old politician made this statement when testifying in his defamation suit against Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi over the latter's remarks about his ancestry in 2017.
Yesterday, Dr Mahathir told the court that his late father Mohamad bin Iskandar was from Penang and was a Malay, with ancestors who had roots in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
"I am not ashamed to say that I have Indian blood.
"However, that does not mean that I am not a Malay.
"I am a Malay from Penang... not Jawi Peranakan. My father was also known as Mohamed Iskandar," he said under cross-examination by Zahid's lawyer Mohd Shahrul Fazli Kamarulzaman today.
Dr Mahathir claimed that Zahid's statements depicted him as an opportunist who claimed to be Malay to gain his personal and political interest.
He also claimed that the deputy prime minister had a skewed view of the Indian community.
"Zahid's statement implied that I cheated the people.
"This is not a matter of whether it is a Malay Muslim name.
"My point is that the name Zahid mentioned (Mahathir a/l Iskandar Kutty) is not my real name," he added.
On July 20, 2022, Dr Mahathir filed a lawsuit, naming Zahid, who is also the Umno president and deputy prime minister, as the defendant.
His suit states that the plaintiff genuinely believes that the defendant's reference in the alleged defamatory statement to "that person", "he", and "Mahathir, the son of Iskandar Kutty", explicitly refers to him.
He said his status as a statesman and an influential political figure in the eyes of the world was also skewed as a result.
The statement also makes out Dr Mahathir to be a liar, untrustworthy, selfish, unethical while holding public office and unfit to be a leader or public figure, he said.