Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad threatens to sue PM Anwar Ibrahim for libel, reigniting political feud

Legal threat comes after PM Anwar made a thinly veiled attack on Mahathir, calling out an individual who had been in power for ‘22 years plus 22 months’

Controversy reignites feud sparked in 1998 during Mahathir’s first premiership when he sacked Anwar as deputy and had him jailed for sodomy and corruption

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Anwar Ibrahim (L) and Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (R) during a campaign ahead of by election in Port Dickson, Malaysia, on October 8, 2018. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 7:15pm, 28 Mar 2023Updated: 8:18pm, 28 Mar 2023

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Tuesday threatened to sue incumbent Anwar Ibrahim for defamation over comments the 97-year-old said falsely implicated him and his family in amassing riches during his time in power.

The legal threat reignites a decades-old feud between Anwar and the nonagenarian Mahathir, who has verbally attacked the new government on an almost daily basis as he tries to revive his political career despite his advanced age, after losing his seat in Langkawi in November’s election.

Earlier this month, Anwar made a thinly veiled attack on Mahathir, calling out an individual who had been in power for “22 years plus 22 months” of amassing gains, while the country’s ethnic Malay majority “have lost everything” to the greed of the individual and their family and children.

Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad (R) is suing PM Anwar Ibrahim for libel. File photo: AFP

Mahathir was Malaysia’s longest-serving premier at 22 years during his first tenure and returned to the post in 2018 for a 22-month stint.

The current prime minister did not mention any names in his speech, but said the individual had also gathered a group of elites in an attempt to stir hatred among Malays towards other races, on the pretext that they have lost power.

Mahathir said it was clear that Anwar’s speech was aimed at him, and that his name was even mentioned in news reports and social media posts linking him to the prime minister’s accusations.

You cannot make accusations without clear proof

Mahathir Mohamad, ex-Malaysian prime minister

“Even if I have heard all this before in the past, at that time he was not the prime minister. Now he is the prime minister, and the prime minister has a responsibility,” Mahathir said at a news conference broadcast on social media, calling for a retraction and a public apology.