PRIME Minister Anwar Ibrahim has entered a memorandum of appearance in the RM150 million lawsuit filed by Dr Mahathir Mohamad against him over his speech at an event in Shah Alam in March. 

The memorandum was filed through Messrs Thomas Philip yesterday. 

His lawyer Alliff Benjamin Suhaimi confirmed the matter and said case management had been set on May 31 before Judicial Commissioner Jamhirah Ali. 

Dr Mahathir filed the suit through Messrs Law Practice of Rafique at the Shah Alam High Court on May 3 and named Anwar as the sole defendant. 

In his statement of claims, Dr Mahathir claimed that during the event dubbed “Kongres Nasional Khas Malaysia Madani: Pelaksanaan Sebuah Idealisme” at the Melawati Stadium in Shah Alam on March 18, Anwar delivered a speech that contained several defamatory statements aimed at tarnishing the plaintiff’s reputation. 

Dr Mahathir said this included statements that the plaintiff had amassed wealth for himself and family members and had given special treatment or priority to high-ranking individuals. 

The ex-prime minister is seeking RM50 million in general damages and RM100 million in exemplary damages, as well as an apology and an order for the defendant to immediately retract all the defamatory remarks. – Bernama, May 17, 2023.