Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today denied that he had met with former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"I didn't meet (him) ... No ...Who said that? You believe in rumours?" he responded when asked about the alleged meeting during a press conference at Parliament House.

"There has been no meeting," he stressed.

It was previously alleged that Najib met with Mahathir at a resort hotel in Langkawi after Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi left for a two-week holiday to Australia on June 29.

Mahathir is also currently on a vacation in Turkey and Greece with his family and close friend, business tycoon T Ananda Krishnan. He left on July 2.

Over the past months, the former premier has been crossing swords with the current administration over numerous issues.

Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin later suggested to bring in a mediator to mend the ties between Mahathir and Abdullah.

Following this, Najib said he was in the dark over any mediation plans and Zainuddin later said it was his own initiative.

Quizzed on his personal stand regarding the peace process this afternoon, Najib appeared evasive.

"I've made a statement. I'm representing the government, it's not a question of my personal (stand). Whatever I say, my personal views and the government views are synonymous," he said.

He reiterated that the government has not made a decision on the appointment of any mediator but is not against any private initiative to mend the rift between the two leaders.

Gerbang Perdana's claims

In another development, he said the cabinet yesterday discussed the compensation claim submitted by Gerbang Perdana Sdn Bhd, the contractor of the aborted bridge to Singapore.

He said the matter is still being verified and will be finalised next Tuesday.

Gerbang Perdana initially demanded for about RM100 million for the scrapped project but the claim later ballooned to RM360 million. The contractor has defended its rights to the claim.

The deputy premier also commented on the launching of missiles by North Korea.

"Our position has always been that we don't want to see any escalation of tension in that area so we urge all parties to take certain course of actions that would stabilise the situation and not raise the level of tension," he said.