Tourism Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz has rubbished claims that he met Deputy Prime Minister Muhyidin Yassin in Milan to hatch a plan to topple Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

He said Najib was aware of his whereabouts because his trip to Dubai and Milan were sanctioned by the cabinet.

"I only met Muhyiddin at a function because a dance group from Istana Budaya was performing," he told Malaysiakini .

Yesterday, former law minister Zaid Ibrahim ( photo ) claimed that Muhyiddin, Nazri, Mustafa Mohamad and former finance minister Daim Zainuddin were among the conspirators who met in the Italian city.

Zaid said this was told to him by a source and could not vouch for the veracity of the information. However, he said that if it was true, it would be the wrong thing to do.

He said that a prime minister should be replaced only by legitimate means - a vote of no confidence in Parliament.

Allegations of misconduct, such as Najib's handling of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) controversy, should be debated in Parliament first.

"A secret meeting in Milan is not the democratic way," said Zaid.

Daim, who is aligned to former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, has been critical of Putrajaya's handling of the 1MDB saga.

Muhyiddin has also shown increasing disquiet over the issue, which he blamed for BN's inability to make a dent in Permatang Pauh.