]Dr Mahathir Mohamad said there was no reason for anyone to fear him after Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak failed to turn up at the "Nothing to Hide" dialogue on 1MDB this morning.

"I am just an ordinary man, I don't have guns, I can't do anything or harm anyone.

"Why should anyone be afraid of me, you (press) are not afraid of me?" he told a press conference after taking over the stage at the event.

Mahathir, who was only supposed to attend as an NGO representative, had taken to the stage after the crowd grew impatient over Najib's absence.

Mahathir sarcastically told the press that Najib may have more important matters than meeting the rakyat.

"I think he must be busy with some other official work which is more important than meeting the people," he said.

Missed opportunity for PM

Earlier, Mahathir had turned the dialogue into a ceramah, targeting Najib following the prime minister's no-show which agitated the crowd.

However, he was stopped by police less than 10 minutes into the speech to the over 2,000-strong crowd.

When asked what was the reason given by the police, Mahathir jokingly replied: "They said you guys (press) were too noisy."

However, the police allowed Mahathir to speak to the press, where he said Najib had missed an opportunity to redeem his support.

"I came here to listen to his explanation, I had hoped that his explanation would be so good that I will begin to support him but he did not come, so I cannot support (him)," said Mahathir.

The former premier also sarcastically said Umno members do really 'support' Najib as thousands of them turn up at rallies for the prime minister with "I Love PM" banners.

"They must support him... but in the last general election, you know, the Chinese community, 70,000 of them came out (for a BN dinner) but Najib didn't get a single vote," he said.

Meanwhile, former Batu Kawan Umno division chief Khairuddin Abu Hasan did not mince words and called Najib a "coward" for not turning up.

"Najib missed the opportunity to explain the issues (in Malaysia)... Najib 'penakut (coward)'.

 "We are not forcing the people to believe anyone but let the two (Mahathir and Najib) discuss national issues," he added.

He slammed most Umno leaders as apple polishers (kaki bodek), saying they only dared to attack Mahathir from afar.

"When we ask them to face (Mahathir), they don't dare," he added.