Court dismisses Dr Mahathir's application to obtain documents from Anwar

SHAH ALAM: The High Court here today dismissed an application by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to obtain certain documents that purportedly support his RM150 million defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Lawyer Alliff Benjamin Suhaimi, representing Anwar, when contacted by Bernama, said Judicial Commissioner Zaharah Hussain dismissed Dr Mahathir's application on the grounds that the document requested was not specifically referred to in the applicant's (Dr Mahathir) statement of defence.

What was referred to in the defence was an event or transaction in the past, he said, adding that the court dismissed Dr Mamahthir's application with costs of RM2,000.

He said the court set Nov 3 for case management for both parties to notify of other interlocutory applications, if any.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, representing Dr Mahathir, when contacted, confirmed the decision by the court today.

He said his client wanted Anwar, among other things, to produce the documents he referred to in his amended statement of defence regarding the alleged bailout of Konsortium Perkapalan Bhd (KPB) by Petronas and Perbadanan Perkapalan Malaysia International (MISC) in 1997.

Dr Mahathir filed the lawsuit against Anwar last May 3 over the latter's speech at an event dubbed "Kongres Nasional Khas Malaysia Madani: Pelaksanaan Sebuah Idealisme" at the Melawati Stadium in Shah Alam on March 18 this year.

The former prime minister claimed that the 10th prime minister had delivered a speech which contained several defamatory statements that aimed to tarnish his reputation.

Dr Mahathir said this includes the statements that the plaintiff has amassed wealth for himself, his children and family members, and has given special treatment or priority to high-ranking individuals.

The former two-time prime minister is seeking RM50 million in general damage and RM100 million in exemplary damage, as well as an apology and an order for the defendant to immediately retract all the defamatory remarks.

-- BERNAMA