Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday that he had a moral duty to accuse his ex-heir apparent of being gay, because it was "unimaginable" to let a homosexual lead Malaysia.
Mahathir's remark came in his rebuttal of a defamation lawsuit filed by his ousted deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, who has demanded unspecified damages and an injunction to prevent Mahathir from repeating the allegations.
Anwar's suit is "scandalous, frivolous and vexatious, and ... an abuse of the [legal] process," Mahathir said in a 38-page statement filed yesterday in the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
Mahathir will "defend his case vigorously," his lawyer, V.K. Lingam said.
Anwar, now one of Malaysia's most prominent opposition politicians, sued Mahathir in January for reiterating last year that he fired Anwar in 1998 because Anwar's alleged sexual orientation made him unfit for office.
Before suing his former mentor, Anwar demanded an apology and damages totaling 100 million ringgit (US$27.7 million) from Mahathir, whose refusal touched off a legal battle that could bring the two foes face-to-face in court for the first time since Anwar's sacking.
Mahathir, who retired in 2003 after 22 years in power, said in his statement that he was "under a clear and compelling social [and] moral duty" to repeat his allegations about Anwar at a human rights seminar last September.
The comment was "to the effect that it would be unimaginable or unthinkable to have a homosexual prime minister in Malaysia," which has a predominantly Muslim population and considers sodomy a criminal offense punishable by prison and whipping, the statement said.
Mahathir said his remark explained "it was unacceptable to have a homosexual in his Cabinet ... particularly when such a person could later succeed him and become the prime minister."
Anwar's lawyer, Sankara Nair, said he would decide within a few weeks whether to respond to Mahathir's latest statement or take it to a court hearing.
In his suit, Anwar has accused Mahathir of speaking "falsely and maliciously," adding that his reputation was "gravely injured" by the allegations.
Anwar was Malaysia's No. 2 leader for five years under Mahathir before they fell out over policy disagreements during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.
Mahathir fired Anwar in September 1998, accusing him of being a homosexual.
Anwar was subsequently arrested, tried on corruption and sodomy charges, and sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison. A successful appeal in Malaysia's top court against the sodomy conviction set him free in 2004.
He had already served a separate sentence for corruption.
VENEZUELAN ACTION: Marco Rubio said that previous US interdiction efforts have not stemmed the flow of illicit drugs into the US and that ‘blowing them up’ would US President Donald Trump on Wednesday justified a lethal military strike that his administration said was carried out a day earlier against a Venezuelan gang as a necessary effort by the US to send a message to Latin American cartels. Asked why the military did not instead interdict the vessel and capture those on board, Trump said that the operation would cause drug smugglers to think twice about trying to move drugs into the US. “There was massive amounts of drugs coming into our country to kill a lot of people and everybody fully understands that,” Trump said while hosting Polish President
A French couple kept Louise, a playful black panther, in an apartment in northern France, triggering panic when she was spotted roaming nearby rooftops. The pair were were handed suspended jail sentences on Thursday for illegally keeping a wild animal, despite protesting that they saw Louise as their baby. The ruling follows a September 2019 incident when the months-old feline was seen roaming a rooftop in Armentieres after slipping out of the couple’s window. Authorities captured the panther by sedating her with anesthetic darts after she entered a home. No injuries were reported during the animal’s time on the loose. The court in the
Japan yesterday heralded the coming-of-age of Japanese Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing. The nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk-and-lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life. “Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming-of-age ceremony,” Hisahito said. “I will fulfill my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.” Although the emperor has a daughter — Princess Aiko — the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only
For more than a century, the fate of the dazzling Darya-e-Noor diamond has been sealed inside a bank vault — a mystery that haunts Khawaja Naim Murad, great-grandson of the last prince, or nawab, of Dhaka. Locked away in 1908, were the family’s heirlooms lost during the violence at the end of British rule in 1947? Did they survive Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971 and the string of coups that followed, or are they still safe, dusty, but untouched? Many suspect that the jewels are long gone and officials at the state-run bank hesitate to simply open the vault, fearing that they
RSS