KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 — Former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will be issuing a letter of demand (LoD) through his lawyer to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Ahmad Zahid said he was aggrieved at Dr Mahathir’s remarks, claiming the Umno president had met him to ask that corruption investigations against him be dropped.
The former home minister took to his official Facebook account to refute the former two-time prime minister’s assertion.
He added that he had been present at the meeting in question, along with other political party presidents, at the invitation of Dr Mahathir to discuss possibly supporting the Langkawi MP to form a unity government.
“How could I possibly ask to drop the charges in front of many? I have never once asked Tun M to do so.
“How could I have lobbied to have the charges dropped before Tun M became the seventh prime minister, as at that time, I was the deputy prime minister and there were no corruption investigations, far less being charged.
“I have instructed my lawyer to issue a letter of demand to Tun M to have him apologise for his lie,” Ahmad Zahid posted.
Earlier today, Dr Mahathir claimed that the Umno president had paid him a visit before he became prime minister for a second time.
Dr Mahathir, who was Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman at the time, said Ahmad Zahid came with a few others, and tried to mend ties with him.
“At the time, there was a possibility that I might become the prime minister, that’s why he wanted to ‘make nice’ with me.
“But I knew, Zahid’s problem was that there was a possibility that he could be imprisoned due to the wrongdoings and crimes he committed,” Dr Mahathir told reporters after unveiling his party’s aspirations for the upcoming Johor state polls.
The Parti Pejuang Tanah Air chairman also asserted that after Umno returned to power, Ahmad Zahid had tried to shake off all other legal actions against him.
“I heard that he wanted to get rid of all actions taken against him through court, that’s Zahid.
“And there were ongoing investigations, and he wanted these investigations stopped. That was true,” said Dr Mahathir.
Ahmad Zahid volunteered to swear on the Quran yesterday, to refute claims he had sought help from then prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to get corruption charges against him dropped.
Muhyiddin, who is also Pagoh MP, had made the assertions against Ahmad Zahid during a ceramah in Tangkak, Johor, on February 16 before a 2,000-strong crowd.
According to Muhyiddin, Ahmad Zahid had visited his home with piles of files a few days after he was sworn in as prime minister in 2020 and asked for help as he had not done the things of which he was accused of.
