(Sept 3): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today lamented the incessant attacks against him by his predecessor and chief critic Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, saying that he never expected such conduct in his "wildest dreams".

In response to a quip by British journalist Riz Khan, who was the master of ceremonies at the World Capital Markets Symposium in Kuala Lumpur today, Najib said: "I want to paraphrase that in my own context... never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that one of my predecessor will be against me in this manner.

"But he's no longer prime minister, he shouldn't take centrestage."

Najib's remarks, made before he read his opening speech at the event, was greeted with laughter by local and international participants from the finance, economics, business and geopolitical sectors.

Khan had earlier joked in his opening remarks to the crowd, ending with the quip: "I was never in my wife's wildest dreams".

Dr Mahathir is one of Najib's staunchest detractors, openly calling for the prime minister to step down over dissatisfaction with Najib's brainchild, state investment vehicle 1Malaysia Development Berhad  (1MDB) which had amassed a RM42 billion debt in just six years of operations.

Malaysia's longest serving prime minister also faced scathing attacks over another scandal which involved a RM2.6 billion "donation" into his personal accounts ahead of the 2013 general election, allegedly by an unknown Middle Eastern donor.

Despite the external pressures, Najib had consistently maintained he would not quit and would continue to steer the country towards achieving developed nation status. – The Malaysian Insider