Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today said the #Nothing2Hide dialogue which was cancelled at the last minute due to security reasons, could have spurred an open political confrontation between him and former premier Tun Dr Mahathir.

He said the programme, initially to be held as a closed-door dialogue session between him and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs), turned into an open debate.

“As a Prime Minister, it is not proper for such a debate like this to be held in open with the former Prime Minister who is also from the same party,” Najib wrote in his blog today.

“It will not bring any good to UMNO and Barisan Nasional,” he added.

“As the Prime Minister and UMNO president, it is my responsibility to maintain the good name of the government and party,” he said.

Najib said he was sorry that the event was forced to be cancelled on security reasons and his wish for the dialogue session with the NGOs were not fulfilled.

“Tun Mahathir has the rights to question me and I am prepared to give him the explanation,” Najib stressed.

On Friday, the #Nothing2Hide event was cancelled in the name of maintaining public order and national harmony.

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It was scheduled to take place at 9am at the Dewan Tun Hussein Onn in Putra World Trade Centre.

Dr Mahathir said Najib had missed a golden opportunity to bring back the support and faith of the people through the #Nothing2Hide event.

He said the event would have been the best platform for Najib to address the allegations and issues raised by the people about him and his administration.

The former premier has been Najib's harshest critic especially on the 1Malaysia Development Berhad and Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M).


READ: #Nothing2Hide: Najib missed the golden opportunity - Tun M