Prior to the 14th general election, former premier Najib Abdul Razak recalled how his successor Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Pakatan Harapan assailed him with accusations of selling the nation.

“... We heard allegations such as Melaka Gateway, Forest City and MCKIP (Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park), which are now clear to be slander towards me.

“I just found out that the solution to 'selling the nation' is to reduce the wall of the steel mill by 1.2 metres. Why was I not told (about this) earlier?” he said in a Facebook posting this evening.

Najib was taking a sarcastic swipe at Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Ong Kian Ming's announcement yesterday that Alliance Steel (M) Sdn Bhd had agreed to a compromise and would lower the solid portion of its perimeter wall.

The wall has been dubbed as the "Great Wall of China in Kuantan".

Ong said the current height of the wall was about three metres but the new plan would have the concrete part lowered to 1.8m and the rest topped with transparent fencing.

The spotlight fell on the wall when Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad told Malaysiakini in an interview that he wanted to see the wall come down, both literally and figuratively.

Ong said the steel mill would submit its plan to lower the 9.2km wall to the Kuantan Municipal Council (MPK) for approval.

“If it is approved, half of the wall will be taken down and replaced with transparent fencing, so people from the outside can see the inside of the Alliance Steel area,” he added.