“I am travelling abroad and in a different time zone. I am told that a letter has been sent to Parliament from me to move a motion to change the prime minister.

“I would like to categorically state that this is fake,” he said in an Instagram post.

He was responding to a report claiming that a missive bearing his letterhead had been sent, proposing a private motion to debate the transfer of power from Dr Mahathir Mohamad to Anwar Ibrahim.

English daily The Star, which claimed to have sighted the letter, said it was dated Nov 20 and stamped and signed the following day.

“I, as the representative of Rembau Dewan Rakyat, make the motion to debate the date of transition of His Honourable Prime Minister (Langkawi) to His Honourable Port Dickson,” the letter purportedly states.

In a Facebook post, Khairy also hit out at the actions of individuals pretending to be him, calling them “very irresponsible”.

“It is a slander that could jeopardise my reputation as an MP representing Rembau area and the Barisan Nasional party,” he said.

Mahathir has repeatedly assured that he will step down and make way for Anwar as promised through Pakatan Harapan consensus although there has been no clear date fixed for the transfer of power.