Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is locked in a bitter dispute with the government, has complained he is now a "pariah" in the ruling party he dominated for two decades.

"I am the former party president yet they don't want me to talk to the members. I can't even meet them. Universities are barred from inviting me and newspapers are prevented from reporting about me," he told the New Straits Times .

"I am becoming a pariah in the party," he said, adding that he was insulted over the attempts to gag him.

Mahathir has been accused of attempting to bring down the government with strident attacks on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who he now publicly regrets handing the top job when he stepped down in 2003.

He has accused Abdullah of nepotism and corruption, and of damaging the economy and dismantling his legacy by reversing some major decisions including a plan to build a new bridge to Singapore.

Najib: Not appropriate

Mahathir's recent proposal to address the November general assembly of ruling party Umno has received a lukewarm response from senior figures.

"Many feel it is not appropriate for Dr Mahathir to do this," said Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak in the New Straits Times . "I follow the general feeling."

Najib has warned that Umno, which has ruled since independence in 1957, could lose power over the dispute between Abdullah and Mahathir.

But despite the immense influence he once held in Malaysia, Mahathir has now been accused of suffering from "post-ministerial syndrome" and politicians have lined up to pledge their support for Abdullah.