KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has submitted his defence in the RM150 million defamation lawsuit initiated by his predecessor Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Anwar's lawyer Aliff Benjamin Suhaimi confirmed that the PKR president through law firm Thomas Philip filed his appearance at the High Court yesterday.
He said the court also fixed May 31 for the next case management.
Dr Mahathir alleged that Anwar had defamed him by accusing him of being racist and enriching himself and his family members during his 22-year tenure as prime minister.
The former Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) chairman filed the suit through the Law Practice of Rafique at the Shah Alam High Court, with the current prime minister named as the sole defendant.
He claimed Anwar made the impugned statement in his speech during PKR's special national congress held at the Malawati Stadium in Shah Alam on March 18.
During the special congress, Anwar had 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.
"This fact is also known to the public, including the defendant, which clearly aims to discredit the plaintiff's name for no apparent reason.
"The plaintiff's image and reputation as a statesman or former prime minister have been tarnished among the general public as long as the defendant has not issued an apology.
"The sense of shame towards the plaintiff and his children or family members is caused by the defendant's statement and hinders the support or trust towards the plaintiff in terms of business opportunities and politics," claimed Dr Mahathir in his statement of claim.
He claimed Anwar made impugned statements that were unfounded and only based on hearsay from the media.
The 97-year-old politician is seeking RM100 million in exemplary damages and RM50 million in general damages.
He also demanded the Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman and PKR president issue a written apology and hold a special press conference to apologise for making such a statement.