Dr Mahathir Mohamad has taken a swipe at Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, stating the latter was "mistakenly" named as a possible successor to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

"When his name was mistakenly mentioned as a possible successor, there was an uproar as the free citizens of Malaysia voiced their rejection.

"Zahid told me to move on over the (RM2.6 billion) donation issue.

"I think Zahid needs to move on more than I do. But unfortunately he has nowhere to go," the former premier wrote in his blog today.

Previously, de facto law minister and Mahathir loyalist Zaid Ibrahim had named Zahid as a potential candidate to take over the baton from Najib.

Zaid had defended his remarks as an attempt to get Umno members on board the ‘Save Malaysia’ movement which seeks to remove the prime minister from office.

Zahid, however, was not flattered by such remarks saying it was not for him to decide.

The Save Malaysia movement, spearheaded by Mahathir, has yet to formally name a candidate who would replace Najib should their goal be achieved.

There also appears to be a split between opposition members of the movement and the former premier over the role of former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, whom Mahathir said was " too old " to lead the country.