DR MAHATHIR Mohamad said Friday he would not have filed a defamation suit against Ahmad Zahid Hamidi if he (Mahathir) was a “roadside kacang putih seller”.

The former prime minister, 99, told the High Court here he decided to sue the Umno president after he made an “insulting remark” as he was a politician and the then leader of a political party.

“The defamatory remark was about me and not a roadside kacang putih seller,” Mahathir said under cross-examination by Zahid’s lawyer, Shahrul Fazli Kamaruzman.

He said the statement made by Zahid, who is also the deputy prime minister, made it seem that he was a Hindu who became a Muslim convert.

Mahathir is suing Zahid over his alleged use of the name Kutty, which he said was intended as a derogatory reference to him.

In his statement of claim, he said Zahid made the allegedly defamatory remark at an Umno divisional meeting in Kelana Jaya, Selangor, on July 30, 2017.

He claimed the remark implied that he was not born a Malay or a Muslim, and that his original name was Mahathir son of Iskandar Kutty.

It also implied that the name Mahathir Mohamad was used to profit himself politically and personally.

In his defence, Zahid said the name referred to an individual based on information contained in a copy of an old identity card.

Today, Mahathir denied a suggestion by Shahrul that he decided to file the suit in July 2022, after Zahid refused to apologise and to pay RM50 million as stated in a letter of demand sent three months earlier.

He said his lawyers came up with the figure as Zahid’s statement had “destroyed” his reputation.

“Good reputation is very costly,” he said.

Mahathir said he was hopeful that Zahid would apologise over the incident. “I filed the suit when he failed to respond,” he said.

The hearing before judicial commissioner Gan Techiong continues.