“Begging outsiders to overthrow the mandate of the people is not the action of a patriot,” he said when officiating the Ninth General Assembly of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (Icapp) at the Putra World Trade Centre here this morning.

Malaysians, Najib said, remember the struggles of taking control of their own destiny and must always fight to protect the sovereignty of the people they represent as Umno has done from the very beginning.

While Najib did not identify those who urged foreign powers to intervene in Malaysia’s affairs, he may have been alluding to former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

In April, the elderly statesman, who is one of Najib’s fiercest critics, told The Weekend Australian that the chances of ousting Najib were slim without external pressure.

His remark to the Australian press earned the ire of politicians from Barisan Nasional with Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi reminding the people that Mahahtir himself when prime minister, frequently reminded party leaders against cooperating with foreign powers as doing so would only serve to tarnish the country’s image.

Mahathir however, denied calling for foreign intervention in the country’s domestic affairs in a bid to remove Najib as prime minister, explaining that what he meant was that all the means to redress in this country were shut down by Najib.

“So, I will tell the foreign press about this,” Malaysia’s longest serving PM was reported as saying a few months ago.