A minister has come out to ask three former top government officials to "clear their name" over insinuations that they were involved in a conspiracy to oust Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Rural and Regional Development Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said former Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, former attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail and former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner Abu Kassim Mohamed "cannot remain silent".

The Umno supreme council member was referring to reports that former prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had hinted that Najib would have been out of office by now if the three Tan Sri had not been betrayed.

“It is better for the three Tan Sri to refute (the reports) if what Mahathir mentioned was untrue," he told reporters after opening the Umno Parit Sulong division delegates meeting in Batu Pahat today.

Yesterday, Malaysia's ambassador to Indonesia Zahrain Mohamed Hashim made a similar request to the three Tan Sri.

- Bernama