Dr Mahathir Mohamad has once again challenged Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to face him in a public debate.

In a blog post this evening, the former premier reproduced excerpts of a Malaysiakini article which quoted Najib launching a veiled broadside against Mahathir. The latter provided a point-by-point rebuttal to the prime minister's remarks.

In the article, Najib, without naming Mahathir, had said that a particular leader was making himself available to any media organisation that was willing to listen so that he could spread fake news and tell lies about his country for selfish political gains.

To this, Mahathir demanded for Najib to prove that his statements were falsehoods and noted how the local media organisations were controlled by the government.

“The print and electronic media in Malaysia are controlled by the government. Even Parliament cannot discuss 1MDB and the RM2.6 billion in Najib's accounts. The Umno general assembly was instructed to be silent on these.

“Am I supposed to censor myself when asked by foreigners. I have been talking to foreigners throughout my life. Prove that what I say is fake. Let's have 'Nothing to Hide 3',” he said.

Najib had failed to turn up for the first “Nothing to Hide” forum in June 2015 after Mahathir gatecrashed the event at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) in Kuala Lumpur.

However, the organiser later claimed that Najib was about to leave his house for the dialogue when the police asked him not to do so.

"The PM was about to leave his house... The police took over the event after informing us (of the cancellation). The police took over," said chief organiser Khairul Anwar Rahmat.

Whereas the second “Nothing to Hide” forum in August this year, where Mahathir once again invited Najib, witnessed a fracas erupting in the Shah Alam hall.

The event, which started at 3pm, descended into chaos at around 5.30pm when Mahathir was addressing the crowd.