Dr M demands public apology from Puad over defamatory post on Seri Pacific Hotel land

• Mahathir’s lawyers want Puad to hold a press conference at Umno headquarters, invite the media, and admit he was wrong to publish the false claim that Mahathir had committed a breach of trust.

KUALA LUMPUR (April 18): Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (pictured) has issued a legal notice to Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi, demanding a written and public apology.

This follows Puad’s now-deleted April 12 post titled “Tun M mesti pulangkan harta Umno” (Tun M must return Umno assets), where he accused Mahathir of refusing to return the Seri Pacific Hotel land to Umno — a claim Mahathir says is defamatory.

Mahathir’s lawyers from the Law Practice of Rafique said that simply deleting Puad’s post wasn’t enough, and action was needed since no apology was made.

Mahathir’s lawyers want Puad to hold a press conference at Umno headquarters, invite the media, and admit he was wrong to publish the false claim that Mahathir had committed a breach of trust.

They also demand a written and unconditional apology within seven days (from April 17), along with a promise not to make any more defamatory statements.

“Mahathir reserves his rights to take legal action if necessary on any parties,” a statement issued by the law firm said.

Puad’s accusation came after reports that Umno had filed a summons to compel the registrar to transfer the land held under a trust and Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s claim that one of the four trustees of the land refused to return the land. One online news portal reported that Zahid named Mahathir as the trustee refusing.

Besides Mahathir, the other trustees were the late Tun Daim Zainuddin, the late Tan Sri Sanusi Junid and Tun Musa Hitam.

In Umno's legal filing to claim the Seri Pacific Hotel land, it was revealed, however, that the transfer was delayed not because the trustees refused but due to a name discrepancy in the application. An affidavit was later submitted with the trustees' identification cards and a report on Daim’s passing to help facilitate the transfer.

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