Courtroom Showdown: Dr M refuses to answer ‘repeated’ questions on ancestry
Late drama unfolded at the High Court when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad refused to answer ‘repetitive’ questions posed by a lawyer during the hearing today.
(NST) – This happened after lawyer Mohamed Shahrul Fazli Kamarulzaman kept pressing the former prime minister with multiple questions about his ancestry while the latter was testifying as a witness in his defamation suit.
The 99-year-old politician is suing Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi over the latter’s remarks in 2017 alleging Dr Mahathir’s real name was Mahathir a/l Iskandar Kutty.
Shahrul, who appeared for the deputy prime minister, had been focusing his line of questioning on Dr Mahathir’s ancestry since yesterday before Judicial Commissioner Gan Techiong.
However, today, Dr Mahathir pushed back, questioning the relevance of the lawyer’s inquiries regarding his ancestry in relation to his suit against Zahid, which centres on the latter’s remarks against him.
“You keep questioning my ancestry, but the case I filed is about whether Zahid lied or not and whether his statement was defamatory.
“I dare him to prove that I am not Mahathir bin Mohamad, that’s the way, not by questioning other matters.
“I did not take (legal) action against others, but only against what he (Zahid) said… prove it.
“Show my IC (MyKad), to me (other questions) are not relevant… I will not answer,” he said.
This prompted Gan to interject and explain the court process to the plaintiff, (Dr Mahathir) before asking him to answer the questions.
Gan: You are someone with a clear mind. I am sure everyone here is impressed with you. I hope you can cooperate by answering the lawyer’s questions.
Dr Mahathir: But it is not relevant.
Gan: With all due respect, Tun, before July 2017, the date this lawsuit was filed, there were articles before that which stated your name as Mahathir a/l Iskandar Kutty.
They (the lawyers) have the right to ask. They are trying to show that the defendant (Zahid) was not the first to raise this issue.
Dr Mahathir: Many articles written are not true. They emphasised that my grandfather’s name was Kutty. I have already answered that.
Gan: This is an adversarial system, that is how it works. You are here as a witness, and the defendant’s lawyers have the right to ask cross-examination questions.
The process is that after this, there will be a re-examination by your lawyer for clarification.
Dr Mahathir: I will answer, but they keep asking the same questions.
At that point, the lawyer requested the proceedings to be adjourned to Oct 14.
On July 20, 2022, Dr Mahathir filed the suit, naming Zahid, who is also the Umno president, as the defendant.
His suit states that the plaintiff genuinely believes that the defendant’s reference in the alleged defamatory statement to “that person”, “he”, and “Mahathir, the son of Iskandar Kutty”, explicitly refers to him.
He said his status as a statesman and an influential political figure in the eyes of the world was also skewed as a result.
The statement makes out Dr Mahathir to be a liar, untrustworthy, selfish, unethical while holding public office and unfit to be a leader or public figure, he said.
Let me join in. By joining in I hope that the contentious subject of Tun Dr Mahathir's names which have gone to the court would be well explained. I am from Alor Setar (Kedah), the birthplace of Dr Mahathir and the place he grew up. I consider myself very familiar with the names accorded to him or associated with him, his father and grandfather. Whatever names associated with Tun Dr Mahathir are duly presented for all to see. To start with : (1) Mahathir bin Mohamad (1946, he was the Secretary of his school Literary and Debating Society). He contributed an article to his school magazine. His name was typed Mahathir b. Mohamad. (2) Mahathir bin Md. Iskandar (1946, as Editor of his school magazine "Darulaman") (3) Mahathir b. Mohamad (1946, as House Secretary of King's House). Many years later, when he became a medical doctor, his name Dr Mahathir bin Mohamed/Mohamad appeared. For example, as President of his alma mater's Old Boys' Association, (1962), he wrote an appeal letter for funds to build a new Club House. The names/spelling 'Mohamad' and 'Mohamed' did not look like an issue to Dr Mahathir and because of that there was much interchanging between the two. Now, why did his name appear as Mahathir bin Md. Iskandar in the 1946 school magazine? The name Md. Iskandar or Iskandar has been problematic. Dr Mahathir's father, Mohd. Iskandar or Mohamad/Mohamed Iskandar who was a teacher at the Penang Free School (Penang) was invited to start a new English school in Alor Setar called the GES (Government English School) in 1908. He didn't stay long. After some misunderstanding with the educational authorities he returned to PFS (Penang) two years later (1910).. There is a primary school in Alor Setar, called Iskandar Primary School (started in the mid 1950s). Why was it named Iskandar Primary School? What was Tun Dr Mahathir's grandfather's contribution to education in Alor Setar or Kedah? (so as to name a school after him?) Was the school erroneously named? or there was an effort to name the primary school after his father (Mohamad or Mohamad Iskandar) for having started the pioneer English school in Alor Setar. How much did he contribute to the school he set up? (he moved in in 1908; left in 1910)
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To continue..... It has been mentioned by many people that Tun Dr Mahathir's name while he was studying medicine in Singapore was Mahathir bin Iskandar Kutty. How did this 'Kutty' thing appear? School reopened on the 15th of October 1945 after the Japanese Occupation of three and a half years. Students who had had a long holiday but eager to continue studying, came back to the school to register. Tun Dr Mahathir was one of them. The following year, 1946, was a hive of activity in school as teachers and students tried to regain the lost time in teaching and learning. Tun Dr Mahathir's names which were variously written/spelt have been extracted from the school magazine of May and December 1946. I have never come across the name 'Kutty' anywhere in the school he studied in or in the school magazine but some people have claimed to have seen his name 'Kutty' in the university register in Singapore.
ReplyDeleteTo continue.....I have missed reaffirming one important point. Mahathir bin Iskandar Kutty who was supposedly a registered student of King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore after the War, was definitely not the same person known as Mahathir bin Mohamad (who claimed to have studied in the same medical college). How can Mahathir bin/son of (his grandfather?) According to the writing style long ago, Md. Iskandar/Mohd. Iskandar could mean Mohamad bin Iskandar. So Mahathir bin Mohd. Iskandar must be Mahathir bin Mohamad (bin Iskandar). Period.
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