Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad wants to organise an Umno gathering to explain his stand over the spat with his handpicked successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The party's former president was responding to Umno's denial that it had barred him from meeting its members.

"They say it's not true that I cannot speak to Umno members so I would like to have an Umno gathering to speak to Umno people," he told reporters after attending a book launch in Kuala Lumpur.

"If they allow me to speak then I speak, because they say they are not stopping me from speaking to Umno members. So, okay, I'm going to organise an Umno meeting," he said, adding that the meeting will be held "as soon as possible".

Mahathir said the Umno leadership had stopped five party divisions which sought contact with him from "having anything to do" with him.

"So far they (Umno) have stopped five groups from having anything to do with me. Those people have invited me to speak to them (but) they have been told 'no' - they (Umno) cannot allow me to speak to them," added the vocal ex-premier.

"When I speak to the NGOs (non-governmental organisations), they complain there are PAS members there, so I must control people who came to hear me also. Newspapers now black out (my news), people who wrote in letters supporting me cannot get them published," he said.

Asked what will be the agenda of his Umno gathering, Mahathir replied: "Anything that Umno members don't understand. They don't allow me to speak, so how to expect people to understand (what's going on)."

Mahathir was also asked to respond to the purported dissatisfaction among Umno grassroots with the explanations provided by their leaders in a recent series of briefings over the questions and criticisms raised by him.

"The briefing sessions should be handed over to me," he said to laughter from reporters, while adding that he did not follow the development on the briefings.

Simple request

Meanwhile, Mahathir confirmed that Umno veteran and Malacca state governor Mohamad Khalil Yaakob was the mediator to help resolve the row between Abdullah and him.

"I have met Khalil ( left ) who is the mediator. I have told him what needs to be done. It's up to him. I explained to him what's the problems and he asked me how to solve the problems.

"I told him, very simple - don't kowtow to Singapore, don't give to many APs (approved permits to import foreign luxury cars), don't undermine (national car maker) Proton, don't sell (Italian motorcycle unit) MV Agusta," he said.

Asked on the progress of the mediation, he said Khalil has yet to speak to him after the meeting, held before Mahathir left for his holidays.

Previously, Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin - a close ally of Mahathir - who mooted the mediation plan denied that Khalil was the person asked to bridge the divide.

Asked why Mahathir did not telephone Abdullah despite having 'direct access' to the prime minister, he answered: "I don't call him up and tell him this and that."

"My request is very simple - I don't agree we don't build the bridge, I think we should build and to say people don't want the bridge is incorrect. The people don't want to sell sand [... ] but bridge they want."

Pointed out that Abdullah said he has righted the wrongs, Mahathir rebutted: "Is he building the bridge? Not building the bridge is wrong so if he is building I will say he is right. The bridge has not been built.

"We have sold Agusta, giving more APs, so many APs that cars now cannot be sold, lower the price of cars, (and) create problems for second-hand car dealers, everybody losing money, we have a national automotive policy which is causing a lot of problems," he said.

Earlier, Mahathir launched a book titled ' The Chinese Malaysian Contribution '.