Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz has given his guarantee former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad would be given whatever the latter needs to oust Prime Minister Najib Razak.

"I give a guarantee on behalf of the prime minister, whatever request Dr Mahathir has that is legitimate, that follows the laws in his attempt to oust the PM, we (the government) will give.

"Our party has given. What more does he want?" said Nazri according to a report on the BN Backbenchers Council (BNBBC) website.

"It's good if Dr Mahathir will demonstrate in the streets, please let me know.

"I will ensure the police give him a chance to demonstrate, although during the time he was PM previously, he never gave us a chance to do the same," said the Umno minister.

Mahathir had been known to have zero tolerance for street demonstrations and is notorious for detaining critics, particularly in the Internal Security Act (ISA) sweep dubbed Operation Lallang in 1987.

1.4 million signatures 'meaningless'

According to BNBBC, the outspoken minister dismissed Mahathir's 1.4 million signatures for the Citizens' Declaration as "meaningless" and the latter's audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah was "a waste".

"It is clear he holds deep vengeance towards the prime minister, to the point he is willing to do something that actually would not yield results.

"But I understand. The Agong perhaps has known Mahathir for a long time. Perhaps he only invited him to have tea.

"Who is Mahathir to cut short the power that the people gave, through elections, to Najib to become prime minister?" he said.

After months of campaigning nationwide, the Citizens' Declaration has collected its targeted signatures to petition for Najib to step down over various controversies such as the 1MDB scandal.

Mahathir met the Agong for an audience last Thursday, in which fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin claimed the monarch had questioned the authenticity of the signatures.

Mahathir loyalist former Umno Batu Kawan vice-chief Khairuddin Abu Hassan yesterday blasted Raja Petra's claims as a lie, as no third parties were present to witness the ex-premier's meeting.