Due to former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir being accused of contempt of court during his defamation lawsuit against Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid, where he gave a media interview, the High Court has instructed the plaintiff's lawyer to listen to instructions from the parties involved before deciding on the next steps.
High Court judicial commissioner Gan Boon Leong reminded both parties today (16th) about the seriousness of contempt of court, where the judge has the authority to impose judgment such as imprisonment, fines, or reprimand on those deemed in contempt of court.
During the proceedings, Ahmad Zahid's representative lawyer, Mohamad Shahrul, requested to play two videos of Mahathir being interviewed by the media on December 5, after he testified in court.
Shahrul believes that since Mahathir was prepared to give the media interview at the time, the press conference was pre-arranged.
In response, lawyer Nizam opposed the playing of the videos, arguing that Ahmad Zahid, who is also the President of UMNO, did not prove the authenticity of the videos according to Section 90A of the Evidence Act 1950.
In regards to this matter, Gan Boon Leong stated that even if there is a violation, it can be corrected.
Mahathir, who was present at the trial and on the defense bench today, was allowed to watch the two videos, each 2 minutes and 5 minutes in length.
Gan Boon Leong approved Ahmad Zahid's application to charge Mahathir with contempt of court based on the video content on January 7.
Mahathir opposed this, stating that it was merely a delay tactic and that he simply reiterated his testimony during the interview.
He mentioned that there are no explicit regulations prohibiting media from reporting on the trial process or preventing him from speaking to them.
He added that since there is no jury in this case, Ahmad Zahid's mentioned rules do not apply, and as the arbiter of fact and law, Gan Boon Leong would not be easily swayed.
The decision on the contempt of court accusation will be made on the 14th.
On July 20, 2022, Mahathir filed a lawsuit at the Kuala Lumpur High Court against Ahmad Zahid for defaming him on July 30, 2017, at the UMNO Klang Jaya division representatives meeting. These remarks were also published on the Astro Awani YouTube channel and several news websites, available for public viewing.
Ahmad Zahid submitted a defense statement denying that he maliciously made those statements publicly on July 30, 2017, to harm or disparage Mahathir's reputation.
He claimed that the name "Mahathir anak lelaki Iskandar Kutty" was based on an old identity card photocopy of a person and that he could not control any media platform from publishing and disseminating his statements.
Mahathir indicated that the name Kutty seemed to imply that he was not a Malay while pretending to be one for political advantage.