Former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim has urged the opposition and rebels in Umno to unite and face their common foes, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali.

"There is very little we can do about Najib and Apandi now, except to win the next general election. But this is where my frustration begins.

"Why can’t the opposition and Umno dissidents sit down together and unite to face Najib and Apandi while waiting for the next election?

"What we need now is a broad coalition of national leaders who share the view that Najib is a cancer that must be removed," Zaid wrote in his blog today.

The former minister said a leadership summit should be held to formalise the creation of a national unity council to save the country.

The summit, he said, should seek to establish a commission to uncover the truth behind the 1MDB issue.

It should also determine who would act as an interim leader, should Najib step down, as well as who would be the new finance minister, civil service chief, inspector-general of police and attorney-general, Zaid said.

He added that the summit should feature all opposition leaders willing to fight Najib, such as PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man and PKR's deputy president Azmin Ali.

The Umno side, meanwhile, should be represented by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and those who were "axed by Najib".

"Here, I am assuming that some of the top Umno leaders discarded by Najib still have the stomach to fight.

"If they are unwilling because they still 'love Umno' – an expression they used to hide their fears – then there are many others in the lower rung who dare," Zaid said.

Najib had, last July, removed Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin and vice-president Shafie Apdal from the cabinet for speaking out on the 1MDB scandal.

Since then, there have been a number of Umno members who have risen against the party president, such as former Langkawi Wanita Umno member Anina Saadudin and the Teluk Kemang Umno Six.

Zaid said if the summit could be pulled off, it would reignite the people's hopes for a better tomorrow.

Najib is currently secure in his position as prime minister, after Apandi cleared him of any criminal offence in the RM2.6 billion and RM42 million SRC International Sdn Bhd cases.

Najib has denied any wrongdoing, or allegations that he misused public funds for personal gain, saying that these were made to oust him as prime minister.