Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said the petition to oust him, dubbed the 'Citizens' Declaration', is wrong in law.

In his state of the union speech on live television tonight, Najib stressed that Malaysia was a country that has rule of law and said the declaration went against this but avoided specifically mentioning the Citizens' Declaration.

"We must remember that this is a sovereign and independent country with rule of law.

"Meaning we cannot do as we please by urging the rakyat to act outside the limits of the law and what is enshrined in the federal constitution.

"This includes making certain declarations - supposedly to collect signatures as a referendum for uncertain purposes.

"Know that all this is wrong in terms of the federal constitution and the country's laws," he said.

Najib likened the actions of his opponents to prodding a hornet's nest but said he remained a big hearted person.

"At this time, there are certain groups that are creating disturbances and chaos, trying to make things unnecessarily difficult and doing everything to test our patience.

"However, at this point I still choose to be magnanimous and lead the government that is also a magnanimous one," he said.

Najib stressed that his government will not be distracted by these developments will remained committed towards fulfilling the country's development plans.

The address today is an annual event for Najib to update on his transformation plan which he initiated after coming to power in 2009.

The Citizens' Declaration was initiated by a group of 45 eminent leaders including former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The movement is now seeking one million signatures from the public in a bid to pressure the conference of rulers to remove Najib as prime minister.

Mahathir had accused Najib of corruption and vowed to unseat him. Najib denied any wrongdoing.