Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today poked fun at his arch-nemesis, former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, for teaming up with the opposition.

"Back then Mahathir faced a lot of accusations, such as maha firaun (the pharoah) and maha zalim (the despot), but now they sit together," Najib said in the House today.

He was referring to Mahathir teaming up with opposition and civil society leaders to oppose and oust him.

Najib said this when brushing off concerns aired by Annuar Musa (BN-Ketereh) on a "hate campaign" aimed at the prime minister.

The premier's critics, including Mahathir, have been citing the RM2.6 billion donation and 1MDB scandals as reasons why Najib should quit office.

Najib however has been successful in repelling efforts to remove him from office.

He has denied allegations of misusing public funds, and has maintained that 1MDB, despite its massive RM42 billion debts at one point, was not in trouble.

The government has sold off 1MDB assets Edra Global Energy and Bandar Malaysia to cover up the debts.