DR Mahathir Mohamad today hit out at Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, accusing him of being a “kaki pembohong” (liar), after the deputy prime minister attacked his Indian ancestry.

“I am shocked with his statement. Never has anyone touched this subject, talking about my roots in a way that is different than what is publicly known,” said Dr Mahathir who is Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) chairman.

“It shows what a liar Zahid is,” he said in a video posting on Bersatu’s Facebook page this evening.

Dr Mahathir was commenting on Zahid’s remarks at the Kelana Jaya Umno division annual general assembly yesterday that the former prime minister’s father was an Indian.

“Dr Mahathir has likely forgotten about this fact: that he is the son of Iskandar Kutty. On his blue IC, his name is listed as Mahathir, son of Iskandar Kutty,” Zahid said.

“This was sent to me by the National Registration Department director. No wonder he has easily forgotten this, he is the son of Iskandar Kutty,” the Umno acting deputy president said.

Dr Mahathir said Zahid was a liar because he could not show the name on the said blue identity card.

“The first card I received, I was still in university at the time. If he can show it, I would like to see it. Don’t hide. Don’t be like Apandi,” he said, referring to Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali, who he had earlier this month called a liar too, for defending Prime Minister Najib Razak in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal.

“Apandi has nothing to show. He puts them under the Official Secrets Act. Does Zahid want to make this secret too? Just show it,” the PPBM chairman said.

Dr Mahathir, who served as prime minister for 22 years, said Zahid had gone to see him after he was made deputy prime minister to gain his sympathy and support.

“I told him that even if Najib was to resign, which would never happen, he would have to wait for Umno to decide on Najib’s replacement.

“It is not certain that Zahid will be the replacement. When he wanted my sympathy, he came. When he couldn’t get it, he found lies like this.

“I am embarrassed that there is such a person in the Malaysian cabinet,” the 92-year-old veteran politician said.

Postings of information on Dr Mahathir’s parentage and snapshots of his old identity card have been going viral on social media sites and messaging apps since Zahid’s remarks.

Earlier today, a posting on the Mukhriz Mahathir FC Facebook page, a community page dedicated to Dr Mahathir’s son, said Iskandar was Dr Mahathir’s grandfather, not his father whose name was Mohamad.

The posting said: “It was Iskandar who came from Kerala and married Siti Hawa from Johor, who gave birth to Mohamad in 1881 in Penang.”

“Mohamad married Wan Tempawan Wan Hanafi, and so Tun M @ Che Det (Dr Mahathir) was born.

“Iskandar was brought to Malaya by the East India Company to teach English in the palace. Meanwhile, Mohamad was the first principal of the Sultan Abdul Hamid College in Kedah.” – July 31, 2017