Pakatan Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he has no interest in debating anyone other than Umno president Najib Abdul Razak and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.

He said he would only debate those on his level and not their "konco-konco" (goons).

"I want to debate Hadi and Najib. I am the head of a party. They are heads of parties. So Hadi and Najib should come (and debate me). Don't let it be like that ‘Nothing to Hide' forum. (Najib) ran away.

"If they want to (debate), I welcome them. I can even provide food... (they are) getting unqualified goons who can't debate (to challenge me), don't do that," Mahathir told reporters in Putrajaya today.

Mahathir said this in response to queries on whether he would accept an invitation by a pro-PAS NGO to be on the panel of a forum titled "Is Mahathir qualified to be PM again" in Pengkalan Chepa, Kelantan tomorrow night.

One of the speakers at the event will be Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) lecturer Kamarul Zaman Yusoff.

Kamarul recently endured ridicule by netizens for getting somewhat tongue-tied when Mahathir showed up at a public forum while the former was in the midst of lengthy tirade against the former premier.

‘The gov’t can do what it wants’

Meanwhile, Mahathir said Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia should have just allowed the passage of the Election Commission's report on the redrawing of electoral boundaries without debate.

This was because Mahathir believed that the 10 minutes allotted for MPs to debate the matter was insufficient.

"There's no need (for debates). Just do it. Do whatever they want. The matter was brought to Parliament, not with the intention of getting feedback.

"In other countries, the opinions of the opposition matter. But here, the government can do whatever it wants. There were no amendments (to the report)," he said.

Mahathir said that during his tenure as prime minister, the redrawing of electoral boundaries was done properly, in accordance to the Federal Constitution.

"At the time, we only had 90 MPs. Now there are 222 because of the increase in population. But this (time), it has nothing to do with increasing the number of seats.

"They are moving voters here and there to secure victory. It was a rush job, no debates. It was not scrutinised and the government's majority was abused," he added.