Anwar prepared to face Dr M in court over amassing wealth claims

Anwar prepared to face Dr M in court over amassing wealth claims


Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is prepared to face legal action by Dr Mahathir Mohamad over the claims Anwar made that the former prime minister had amassed wealth for personal riches while in power.

A letter dated today (April 17) and sent by his lawyer Aliff Benhamin Suhaimi, states that Anwar denied all allegations made by Mahathir.

“For your information, we have been instructed by our client to deny all allegations and content in your letter.

“In this regard, our client is ready to answer any allegations - if any - in court and not through correspondence if your client wants to proceed with legal action,” the letter states.

Mahathir sent a letter of demand to Anwar on March 27, demanding that the prime minister retracts his claims made during his policy speech at the PKR Special National Congress 2023, on March 18.

If Anwar failed to respond to the letter, Mahathir said, he would proceed with legal action.

Anwar’s initial deadline to respond to Mahathir’s legal letter was April 3, but it was postponed to today after Anwar’s lawyers had asked for an extension.


Anwar did not mention names, but…

Though Anwar did not mention any names in his speech, he did refer to someone who “after 22 years and 22 months of being in power, is lamenting about Malays losing everything, losing assets, shares”.

“When you lose power, when challenged, when you are fearful of the MACC and Inland Revenue Board coming down hard… you are worth billions (but) you don’t pay your taxes, you move your wealth abroad. What sort of prime minister should I be then?” Anwar was reported as saying.

Mahathir claimed this was a clear reference to him as media reports on the speech mentioned his name.

On April 7, Anwar said that he had no qualms about providing evidence to Mahathir to back his claims.

“I don’t want to fight. He has asked for proof, I will give (him) proof, no problem,” Anwar said during a dialogue session with students at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).

At the same event, Anwar had also taken a swipe against Mahathir, stating that while the latter’s governance had its strengths, the nonagenarian had also caused a lot of damage.