The following is an excerpt of what former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said when questioned by journalists today on his on-going spat with the government.

On Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz's comments yesterday.

Mahathir: Nazri is what they call a hatchet man. I don't care at all for his opinion.

I know there is this process of demonising me so that I will be hated by Umno. At that stage, I think they will take action to expel me. At the moment, they cannot. It has to be built up, and they are building this up through the newspapers, showing pictures of me with PAS leaders.

(They said) I was supposed to be on the same platform (with PAS leader); I don't know what they meant about platform. Those PAS people, they came together with all the other NGOs. I wasn't on the same platform with PAS people but if they want to come, I can't say no. I am giving a talk to NGOs, and they came. It wasn't even organised by me. I went there, and they were there; so be it.

On whether he would be leaving Umno

The party doesn't belong to Datuk Nazri. It belongs to all Malays. Nazri has no right to ask this person or that person to leave. I was in Umno before he was born.

On causing disunity within the party.

No, not disunity. Lots of people have come to ask me, 'cannot something be done about what's happening?' And nobody wants to take the risk. Because you take the risk, you get punished. And lot of people now feel the pinch.

So, nobody wants to talk. Ministers want to say yes, MBs (mentri besars) want to say yes, to be in the good books. So nobody is talking. So I talk. I have nothing to gain, I have already retired, I have no more ambition. But when people appeal to me, and also because I see wrong things being done, I feel it is my duty (to speak out). It was also the same when I thought the (first prime minister) Tunku (Abdul Rahman) was wrong. Nobody wanted to take the risk, I stuck my neck out. That is a bad habit I have, I stick my neck out.

On whether he was sad due to the lack of support for him.

I am not sad because the number of people who come to see me, the number of people who wrote letters to the press but were not published; there are very many of them. They all gave me a copy of their letter, and they said they had written but not published.

You look at the newspapers, it would seem that nobody agrees with me, everybody is angry with me but lots of people are not angry with me. In fact, they come to see me, and say 'go on, datuk, go on datuk, we cannot'.

They say all this talk about openness is a big bluff. The only thing open, they feel, is when you condemn anybody who criticises the government. You can see them digging up; now they have not just stopped at me. They have gone on to attack other people who have the same ideas as mine. I am sorry for (ex-New Straits Times editor-in-chief) Kadir Jasin, they dig here and there. If we dig, there is also dirt.

On starting rumours about the government.

The AP thing, is that a rumour? Nobody dares to say anything until I said it. Others, it's the same. The selling of Agusta, losing RM500 million for nothing because you are 'bodoh' (stupid) and don't know technology, (and) you say it's useless.

Sack this person, and that. These are not rumours, they are facts. I spoke about facts. Why is the good of me saying this? This won't appear in your papers.

There are a lot of people doing it, they have been told they must demonise us, that nothing I say will appear in the press. But this is (their) openness - you are open to support the government, it's not open to criticise the government.

On breaking his promise not to criticise the government.

They broke the promise first, I kept silent. Promises made while I was in the government, and just before I was about to leave, were broken but I didn't say anything. So, finally when it comes to the bridge, I felt it is our sovereignty, it has been undermined.

People talk about my pet projects - I have no pet projects, all are my pet projects, during my time, they were influenced by me, the whole country is my pet project. So, don't talk about pet projects.

Yes, of course, I built the railway, KLIA, Putrajaya - was there anything that happened during my time that I didn't have a hand in, that I didn't encouraged and ensure that they were successful? All were my pet projects.

To make it sound this is my pet project ... it is sheer nonsense. This is a spin doctor's job. I think these are very good spin doctors.

They are building up towards it, if I am still popular in Umno rank and file, I don't think they will do it. But they have to demonise me, associate me with PAS and opposition, show pictures of me, what was that picture (in the newspaper)? Well, I was smiling so I must have smiled at quite a lot of people but those pictures were not shown.

On when Umno will sack him

I don't know, it's up to the tempo. I think if they can build up Umno's hatred for me fast enough, then they will do it sooner. I don't plan to do anything. As far as I am concerned, if you do

something wrong, I will criticise.

On whether the spat has become an open war.

No open war. Critising the government is not war. They are trying to make out that this is a war between Dr Mahathir and Umno. You mean to say you can't criticise the PM at all? During my time, the amount of criticism I had to face would fill several volumes.

On his criticism being not good for the country.

It is not good if you don't criticise. Things which are done which are wrong; that would not be good for the country. In any case, people already have doubts. After I left, whether things would move at the same pace, they felt that (they are not), and even Malaysians are going abroad nowadays, there is no business in place.

It's not going to stop me from criticising. I have been expelled from Umno before. Before, it was even more serious. I didn't know it would stop me from becoming PM. But now I don't have any ambition to come back, not even as an MP.

On achieving Vision 2020.

Because things have slowed down. Everybody says things have slowed. Of course, the figures that are trotted out says that everything is fine, but figures can hide a lot of things.

On whether the PM supports the move to expel him.

I don't know. Everybody has the right to expel anybody, they have the authority to do so. But my view is Umno belongs to the people, and at the moment I have every right (to speak out). I have not breached anything in the constitution of Umno.