Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has ridiculed the police’s explanation over why they pulled the plug on a debate between him and Tourism and Culture Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.

The Shah Alam district police headquarters in a letter to Kumpulan Media Karangkraf, the debate organiser, had said the approval was being revoked on public order grounds following complaints from nearby residents.

However, Mahathir pointed out that the debate venue, at Karangkraf’s headquarters in Shah Alam, was an industrial area...