Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak has called Dr Mahathir Mohamad a racist and a liar for switching his stance on foreign direct investment (FDI) from China during his 22-month second stint as premier.

Najib hurled the accusation at the nonagenarian citing the controversial Forest City project, a massive land reclamation housing project by China's giant Country Garden Holdings, as an example.

"The Forest City project was also made into political propaganda to...