PEKAN • Former premier Mahathir Mohamad said the Malaysian authorities should charge him in court if they believed that he was disseminating fake news.
"They can charge me in court. I have no fake news. Only truth," he said yesterday while campaigning in Pahang.
The Pakatan Harapan chairman was commenting on the police investigation on him for allegedly spreading fake news when he claimed a private jet he boarded had been sabotaged as he was about to fly to Kedah to file his nomination papers.
A police report lodged by a group called Umno Grassroots Movement claimed the allegations by Tun Dr Mahathir had caused anxiety among Malaysians over public safety.
Dr Mahathir had claimed on April 27 that the private jet he had boarded for a flight to Langkawi was sabotaged.
He said that just before take-off, the pilot announced that the plane had been damaged and immediate repairs could not be made. The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia said it found no indication of sabotage, and that there was air leakage from the left nose wheel, which it said was a minor and routine technical fault.
A police source told The Straits Times on Wednesday that while the case is still being investigated under the fake news law, Kuala Lumpur police are still determining whether there is merit to proceed.
The Straits Times also understands that Malaysia's federal police are not planning to proceed with the probe.
THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
