Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak simply couldn't resist taking a dig at his current number one critic Dr Mahathir Mohamad in his keynote address at Invest Malaysia 2015 today.

 

Najib in his speech mentioned how "certain quarters" had said that it could be lonely in telling the truth.

 

"There has been some talk lately in Malaysia about how it can be lonely in telling the truth," said Najib at the event in Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

 

"Well, I can tell you that I don't feel lonely standing here today."

 

Najib said this is especially since there were so many respected international bodies, individuals and institutions which had confirmed their belief in Malaysia's success, as well as having "honoured" the country by rating it so highly.

 

"I don't feel lonely at all, in fact, I feel in very good company!" Najib said.

 

Najib must step down

Mahathir, in his relentless attacks against Najib over the past weeks, had claimed that he was alone in the quest to tell the truth about the PM, whom the long-serving former premiere said should step down.

In particular, Mahathir targeted Najib’s pet project 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and the gruesome murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Meanwhile, it is unclear whether Najib's jibe was also directed at his deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin.

Muhyiddin ( right ) was also at the event today and was seated beside Najib before the latter took to the stage to present his speech.

The deputy prime minister, last week, had told Mahathir that he was not alone in telling the truth.

Standing up and telling the truth was Mahathir's trademark, especially when he spoke against Western superpowers waging war, Muhyiddin had said.

And in a speech made on Tuesday, Muhyiddin also repeatedly emphasised on the need to speak the truth.

While speaking in the context of war, Muhyiddin's remark could be seen as a veiled reference to Mahathir's recent lament that he was alone in wanting to seek answers from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.