Kuala Lumpur: The High Court here has turned down Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s bid to obtain an injunction against Dr Mahathir Mohamad pending the disposal of his lawsuit against the former prime minister.
Zahid had sued Mahathir in April for claiming that he had sought Mahathir’s help to get his corruption charges “dropped”.
Lawyer Rafique Rashid Ali, who appeared for Mahathir, told reporters that judge Rozana Ali Yusoff made the decision during an online proceeding.
Rafique said the court ruled that Zahid should prove before a full trial that Mahathir’s remarks at a Feb 23 press conference were deemed untrue. The court also ordered Zahid to pay RM5,000 in costs.
Mior Nor Haidir Suhaimi also represented Mahathir. Zahid was represented by lawyer Shahrul Fazli Kamarulzaman.
At the Feb 23 press conference, Mahathir claimed that Zahid and several others had met him at his house in 2018, and that the Umno president wanted to be “friendly” before Mahathir became the prime minister for a second time.
Zahid claimed Mahathir’s remarks were untrue, unwarranted, unsubstantiated and mischievous.
He claimed that Mahathir’s words meant that he was resorting to shortcuts to resolve his criminal cases for personal interests.
Zahid is seeking aggravated, general and exemplary damages.
Mahathir, in his defence, stood by his remarks and said he would contest the suit.
Zahid had also filed a separate suit against Mahathir’s successor, Muhyiddin Yassin, who made a similar claim against the Bagan Datuk MP during the Johor state election campaign.
