Talk about defiance.

Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has taken to Facebook late on Wednesday night to publish a 10-point note slamming current prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.

The post was published at 11.45pm.

What Najib attacked Mahathir for

Broadly, Najib hit back at Mahathir over two things:

1. Saying that Malaysia's debt is now RM1 trillion without providing proof, and as a result, this alarmed the credit rating agencies and investors confidence in institutions, such as Bank Negara Malaysia.

2. Playing politics and using allegations and slander to tar the former premier as a hedge, because in the event Mahathir cannot turn things around, he can then claim the situation cannot be salvaged as the circumstances are already too dire.

Point number 9 in Najib's post is illuminating. It said:

You can also issue misleading statements on 1MDB or tell half the story about it to blame me but the time to play politics is over.

This could be read as a doubling down challenge to Mahathir to divulge more than he has been inclined to -- perhaps prompting a misstep on the current premier's part or hinting that the scope of the alleged scandal could be wider than perceived at the moment?

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Reactions from public

Najib's late-night diatribe has, in turn, led to him being slammed by Malaysians.

Comments have ranged from asking Najib to go to bed early as he has to return to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters on Thursday, May 24, to continue answering questions following a five-hour marathon first session on Tuesday, May 22, to others offering him chocolate or Kit Kat, so he can take a break.

The chocolate reference was due to Najib previously complaining that the Malaysian police officers had helped themselves to his chocolate in his refrigerator while raiding his house.

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