Former Kedah menteri besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir: I have only known that my father’s name is Mahathir bin Mohamad. I did not know that my aunt Habsah’s name was 'berbintikan' Mohamad Iskandar. I also have no idea if my uncles and [other] aunts also have that patronym. (Photo by Suhaimi Yusuf/The Edge)

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 9): Former Kedah menteri besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir told the High Court on Monday that he did not know that his aunt Habsah’s patronym is Mohamad Iskandar.

Testifying when he was cross-examined in his father Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s suit against Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Mukhriz said he only knew about this in court on Monday.

A patronym is a last name which incorporates the father’s name, rather than a family or clan name.

“I have only known that my father’s name is Mahathir bin Mohamad. I did not know that my aunt Habsah’s name was 'berbintikan' Mohamad Iskandar. I also have no idea if my uncles and [other] aunts also have that patronym.

“However, all I know is that my father Mahathir has only Mohamad as his patronym,” Mukhriz said in reply to questions from Zahid’s lawyer Mohd Shahrul Fazli Kamarulzaman when shown Habsah's identity card.

Born on July 10, 2025, Mahathir is the youngest of 10 siblings.

Earlier, during examination-in-chief by Mahathir’s lawyer Dr Hizri Hasshan, Mukhriz, 60, said as far as he knew, what Zahid had said during the Kelana Jaya Umno division meeting on July 30, 2017, alleging that his father’s name was Mahathir a/l Iskandar Kutty, is false and untrue.

“Zahid has not shown any evidence to support his claim,” said Mukhriz.

Mukhriz said the Iskandar Kutty that was referred to by Zahid is Mahathir’s grandfather, who is said to have come from Kerala, India, and he (Iskandar Kutty) is not his (Mukhriz’s) grandfather, but rather, his great-grandfather.

“[The people of] Kerala are not originally Indians but are from Yemen. Iskandar Kutty is said to have come over (to Malaysia) from the British East India Company to teach English to the palace here. My grandfather is Mohamad bin Iskandar, and he is the first headmaster of the Sultan Abdul Hamid College in Alor Setar, Kedah.

“Mohamad married my grandmother, Wan Tempawan Wan Hanafi, and my father, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad or better known as Che Det, was born [as a result of that union],” he said.

Mukhriz also testified that he was sacked from Umno in 2016, and also said that Zahid’s statement made in 2017 had impacted his then-party Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s election results on the May 2018 general elections, as the party had contested in 54 seats but only won 13.

Mukhriz was testifying in his father’s suit against Zahid for the statement the present Umno president made in 2017.

Mahathir’s old identity card proves his point

Mahathir filed the suit in 2022 against Zahid over the Umno president’s comments at a Kelana Jaya Umno division meeting on July 30, 2017, which implied that Mahathir was not born as a Malay or a Muslim, with the alleged original name of "Mahathir a/l Iskandar Kutty".

Zahid's comments, Mahathir claims, painted him as an opportunist, where he claimed to be Malay only to gain political and personal favour, and had a skewed view of the Indian community.

Hence, Mahathir is seeking general, exemplary, and aggravated damages from Zahid, and an injunction barring the Umno president or his agents from repeating such claims.

With Mukhriz’s testimony on Monday, Mahathir’s lawyers, who also included Mior Nor Haidir Suhaimi and Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, closed their case.

On Friday, Mahathir testified that his name has always been Mahathir bin Mohamad, and he produced his old identity card to prove his point.

Judicial Commissioner Gan Techiong fixed Jan 23 next year as case management for this case and fixed five days starting from May 14 for continued hearing.