Kuala Lumpur: Two videos of a press conference were played in the High Court here today in connection with contempt of court proceedings filed by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi against former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the proceedings are related to Tun Dr Mahathir’s actions in holding a press conference on December 5 last year at the lobby of the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex. During this press event, he displayed several copies of documents, including his identity card, after giving his testimony in his lawsuit against the UMNO president regarding the ‘kutty’ issue.

The two videos, which were published by two online news portals, were played before Judicial Commissioner Gan Techiong. Following the video screening, the judge set May 14 for Dr Mahathir’s counsel to take further instruction from his client, noting that a committal proceeding is a serious allegation.

The 99-year-old Tun Dr Mahathir was also present in court today, along with his legal team led by Rafique Rashid. Counsel Mohamed Shahrul Fazli Kamarulzaman appeared for Ahmad Zahid.

In January this year, Ahmad Zahid was granted leave by the High Court to commence contempt proceedings against Tun Dr Mahathir. The former two-time prime minister had completed his testimony in the lawsuit proceedings on December 5, while his son, Datuk Seri Mukhriz, was the plaintiff’s last witness on December 9. Ahmad Zahid is expected to testify as the defendant’s witness on May 14.

Tun Dr Mahathir had filed the suit against Ahmad Zahid, 72, for allegedly making defamatory statements about him regarding the ‘kutty’ issue. On July 20, 2022, Tun Dr Mahathir claimed that Ahmad Zahid made defamatory remarks about him during the UMNO division meeting in Kelana Jaya on July 30, 2017, and the statement was republished on Astro Awani’s YouTube channel and several online news portals, which were accessible to internet users without restrictions.