In a sarcastic retort, Lim Kit Siang said he is honoured that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak chose an international conference to confer him with the “most powerful man” in Malaysia title.

Based on Najib's remarks, the DAP veteran said he was able to pull off what even the prime minister could not.

“To make two former deputy prime ministers - Anwar Ibrahim and Muhyiddin Yassin - and the longest-serving former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad my stooges and puppets to do my every beck and call, although I am 'hiding' at the back to 'dupe the Malays'," he added.

Lim also wanted to know when Mahathir became his stooge.

"Why should a 92-year-old, who had been prime minister for over one-third of Malaysia's 60-year history, suddenly become Lim Kit Siang's stooge and puppet?" he asked during a press conference in Parliament.

The Gelang Patah MP was responding to Najib's keynote address at InvestMalaysia 2017 in Kuala Lumpur this morning.

The prime minister claimed that DAP, which has the most number of seats amongst its allies, is the dominant force in the Pakatan Harapan coalition.

"The DAP leader of the last half century is now hiding behind the man who jailed him, trying to deceive Malays into thinking that the former leader is their interim candidate for prime minister," he had said.

Lim, however, wanted to know whether Najib really believed the "lies" he said in his speech today that Mahathir, Anwar and Muhyiddin had become his stooges and puppet.

"That I am controlling the puppet strings hiding behind Mahathir's back," he added.

Meanwhile, Lim said Najib's speech today was proof that he was "rattled" by Harapan's success in announcing its structure and leadership line-up.

"Najib's greatest enemy does not come from DAP or Pakatan Harapan but he himself, simply because he has zero credibility - and that applies to his ministers as well."

Lim was among the scores of people detained without trial under the now defunct Internal Security Act (ISA) in 1987 when Mahathir was prime minister.

Umno leaders have often accused the predominantly-Chinese DAP of being a threat to the special position of Malays and Islam.

DAP leaders have denied this and accused their rivals of deliberately demonising their party.