The reunion of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his arch-rival Anwar Ibrahim was historic in order to leave the burden of the past and move on forward with the same goal, said activist Hishamuddin Rais.

“It returns us to the fundamental of our fights in one united front,” he told reporters after giving his statement at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters today.

Mahathir appeared in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur yesterday to attend Anwar’s application to challenge the controversial National Security Act 2016 (NSC Act).

They both greeted each other and shook hands in the courtroom. Mahathir then gave Anwar a pat on his arm.

The move was seen by the others present in court as Mahathir giving moral support to Anwar, whom he sacked in 1998 as deputy prime minister, based on their common objective - both oppose the NSC Act.

Commenting on the reunion, Hishamuddin said: “The picture of Mahathir and Anwar (together) is a symbol of uniting all the forces to strive for a new Malaysia.

“The common aim is to pull down (prime minister) Najib (Abdul Razak), to arrest, to detain and to sue MO1."

Hishamuddin was questioned by the police this morning over TangkapMO1 rally on Aug 27, together with activists Maria Chin Abdullah, A Samad Said and Rozan Azen Mat Rasip.

Bersih chief Maria and Hishamuddin were questioned under Section 9(5) of Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) and Section 505(b) of the Penal Code for, among other things, issuing statements that could cause “fear or alarm to the public”, while the other two were investigated under Section 9(5) of PAA.