‘I’ll show proof’: Malaysian PM Anwar says after being accused of slander by Mahathir 

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he will furnish evidence to back his claim that his predecessor, Tun Mahathir Mohamad, had enriched himself and his family while in power.

“I don’t want to fight. He has asked for proof, I will give (him) proof, no problem,” Datuk Seri Anwar said on Friday.

In a speech at his Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s congress on March 18, Mr Anwar alluded to someone “who had been in power for 22 years and (later) an additional 22 months” using his position to enrich his family and himself.

While Mr Anwar did not mention Dr Mahathir by name, he also said the person was complaining about Malays losing their dominance only after he was no longer in power.

Days later, Dr Mahathir said it was clear that Mr Anwar was referring to no other former premier but him because “I was in power for 22 years and 22 months”.

Dr Mahathir, 97, served as premier twice – from 1981 to 2003, and from 2018 to 2020 – and resigned both times. He

lost his parliamentary seat of Langkawi

in the 2022 General Election.

As a result of Mr Anwar’s allegations in March, Dr Mahathir

sent a legal letter

dated March 27 to him to retract his “slanderous” claims within seven days or face legal action.

He subsequently agreed to an extension until April 17 following a request from Mr Anwar’s legal team.

While acknowledging that Dr Mahathir had contributed to Malaysia’s development, Mr Anwar on Friday also pointed out that his predecessor had done some damage while he was leading the country.

This included creating a negative perception of the Malay community, such as labelling them as lazy and forgetful.

“It is untrue. Which race has no lazy or forgetful people? Every race has such people. The Malays have created huge figures, thinkers and also intellectuals. Do not hurl such insults,” Mr Anwar added.

Dr Mahathir and Mr Anwar used to have a close relationship, with the former calling Mr Anwar his friend and protege.

He anointed Mr Anwar his successor in 1993, but later, amid disagreements over how to handle the Asian financial crisis in 1998, he said that Mr Anwar was unfit to lead “because of his character”.

Between his stints as deputy prime minister in the 1990s and as official prime minister-in-waiting in 2018, Mr Anwar

spent nearly a decade in jail

for sodomy and corruption – charges that he said were politically motivated.

After decades of enmity, the two buried the hatchet briefly in 2018 to oust the then ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition – only to

fall out again within two years,

ending their 22-month-old Pakatan Harapan government and plunging Malaysia into a period of instability.

The last general election, on Nov 19,

left the country in political limbo

after no coalition gained enough seats to form a government.

Mr Anwar and rival Muhyiddin Yassin, whose coalitions had the two largest blocs in Parliament but no simple majority needed to form the government, raced against each other to become premier.

The situation was resolved only when Mr Anwar gained the backing of BN – led by Umno, the party once headed by Dr Mahathir who expelled Mr Anwar in 1998 –

to form a unity government.