After being stopped from speaking at the first Nothing-to-Hide forum, Dr Mahathir Mohamad is now given a chance to attend another one, this time exclusively organised for him.

In fact, he will be given the privilege to pick the time and venue by the organiser, Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM), a PKR-linked NGO.

The former premier will be invited to attend as a panelist in the forum titled as "Nothing to hide during Tun M's reign 1981-2003", focusing on national issues during Mahathir's era.

An invitation was sent out today to Perdana Leadership Foundation, Putrajaya, where Mahathir is the honorary president of the board of trustees.

"The time and venue is yet to be confirmed. We will let Mahathir to pick," SAMM co-ordinator Badrul Hisham Saharin told Malaysiakini .

Malaysiakini understands that the forum will be in the form of Q&A instead of a debate.

If Mahathir decides to be present at the forum, he is expected to be grilled supposedly by the victims who suffered under his 22-year rule, Badrul Hisham said.

"This is the best time for him to explain," he added.

This is after Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak failed to turn up at the highly anticipated forum which was attended by Mahathir, which later became a national joke.

Stop praising Mahathir as 'hero'

The group has also launched "Mahathir, enough is enough" ( Sudahlah, Mahathir ) campaign and a book titled The true face of Dr M , said Badrul Hisham, adding that people should stop praising Mahathir as a "hero".

"Najib may have corruption and criminal allegations against him but this does not make Mahathir a hero. This brings no benefit for the rakyat," he lamented.

Najib was supposed to speak at the forum earlier this month to counter negative publicity over his handling of 1MDB which has accumulated debts of RM42 billion.

However, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar ( photo ) advised Najib not to attend due to "security concerns".

This allowed Mahathir, who was only a guest at the function, to steal the show and deliver a scathing speech criticising Najib.

The public relations disaster was made worse when the police tried to stop Mahathir from speaking, a scene captured by the media and had since gone viral on the internet.

Najib said he regretted the event's cancellation on grounds of security and that his intention to meet with the NGOs was foiled.