Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad refused today to end his attacks on the government, despite talks with his successor which had raised hopes for a resolution to the damaging feud.

Mahathir met with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in private for two hours this afternoon to address the very public verbal brawling that has sent shockwaves through the ruling party and raised fears of government instability.

The feisty 81-year-old political veteran, who now publicly regrets handing the top job to Abdullah in 2003, described the atmosphere as "cordial" but indicated he was not pleased with the results.

"I can't say I am happy, I am satisfied I am able to say these things directly to him," Mahathir told reporters this evening.

"I will continue to criticise if I feel something is done which is not beneficial to the country," he added.

Mahathir said he "stated all that was in my heart" during the four-eyed meeting, and that Abdullah responded on most issues including allegations that his influential son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin, is the power behind the throne.

He said Abdullah also addressed Mahathir's charges that his son, Kamaluddin, had gained improperly from government contracts, and "my allegation that we have become a police state".

"I raised everything, including that his name appeared in the list of companies that dealt with the (United Nations) Oil for Food programme . He said he had nothing to do with that, that he simply wrote a letter to introduce this man who was married to his sister-in-law."

Recorded in PM's little black book

Mahathir said Abdullah told him that only opposition figures - including ousted deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim who was sacked and jailed in 1998 and who is now making a political comeback - benefited from the stream of criticisms.

"He said each time I do these things, I become more unpopular, and he also lost his popularity because of my criticism...

"For me, my intention was to convey my views, and we will wait and see if there will be changes or not. I brought up and explained the bridge issue but there were no comments from him.

"Many other issues I brought up were not touched on but he noted everything in his little black book. All the time I was talking he was jotting down. It was thick. I hope following this meeting there will be some kind of action."

He however vowed that he would continue to speak out in public.

"The idea that if I have a grouse I go and tell him, it is not workable because people won't know why I have a grouse. So I have to explain why something is wrong."

The two men also spoke about their differences on party affairs, including Mahathir's allegation that he was stopped from speaking directly to Umno members.

"I did explain that this block against my speaking to Umno is not good, not right. I have lost my civic right.

"Also the idea of postponing the Umno elections is not right. Although I had done it before, it was because the elections came one year before the general election. Now the general election is not even anytime soon, so there is no reason why the election of Umno's office bearers should not be held."

Mahathir said Abdullah mostly listened to what he had to say during the meeting.

"There were two hours and I spoke for one-and-a-half hours. There was half an hour left and he touched on several issues and then he stopped..."

Peace talks a surprise

Abdullah and Mahathir last week agreed to the meeting at the urging of the Umno which has ruled Malaysia for the past four decades.

Mahathir, infuriated by the axing of projects conceived during his two decades in power, including an abandoned proposal to build a new bridge to Singapore, has accused Abdullah of incompetence, nepotism and corruption.

The peace talks came as a surprise following months of rhetoric from Mahathir, who has complained he is now a pariah in the party he once ruled with an iron fist.

The meeting was hailed as a valuable opportunity to thrash out their differences in private, but some political figures have said they fear the fractures are too deep to be quickly resolved.