SHAH ALAM: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's RM150 million defamation suit against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is set to go on trial in Aug.
Dr Mahathir's lawyer, Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, said the six-day trial dates are Aug 13, 14 and from Aug 18 to 21.
The dates were fixed during case management before High Court judicial commission Zaharah Hussain.
Rafique said Feb 25 was set for pre-trial case management. Also acting for Dr Mahathir is lawyer Nizam Bashir while Aliff Benjamin Suhaimi is representing Anwar.
In May 2023, Dr Mahathir, a former two-time prime minister, filed the suit against Anwar, naming him as the sole defendant.
Dr Mahathir alleged that Anwar had tarnished his reputation by accusing him of being racist and enriching himself and his family members during his 22-year tenure as prime minister.
He claimed that Anwar made the statement in his speech during PKR's special national congress at the Melawati Stadium in Shah Alam on March 18, 2023.
Anwar had allegedly referred to someone "who in the past had been in power for 22 years and an additional 22 months" as taking advantage of his position to enrich himself and his family.
Anwar, who did not specify any name during his speech at the party's special congress, also said this person had complained about the Malays losing everything when he was no longer in power.
Dr Mahathir said he had never been accused or convicted of any wrongdoing involving power abuse or misuse of funds either during or after serving as prime minister.
He claimed that Anwar had made statements that were unfounded, and based only on hearsay from the media.
Dr Mahathir said it was vital that Anwar, as the current prime minister, to ensure that every statement he made was based on facts and not just rumours or hearsay from the media.
Dr Mahathir said all of his income was audited to ensure that there is no deceit in the payment of taxes or the source of income.
He is seeking RM100 million in exemplary damages and RM50 million in general damages, besides a written apology and a special press conference for Anwar to apologise for making such statements.