Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has accused a ‘former leader’ of spreading lies about Malaysia, which he said had nearly scuttled the US$7 billion (RM31.1 billion) deal between Petronas and Saudi Aramco.

In the veiled attack apparently aimed at Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is also a former prime minister, Najib lamented that the opposition would rather create false propaganda than to engage on facts...