SHAH ALAM - Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was rushed off a stage where he was speaking against Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Sunday (August 13) after shoes or a water bottle were thrown at him, according to Malaysian media reports.

The Nothing To Hide 2.0 forum that was supposed to feature a no-holds barred session with Tun Mahathir, 92, was suspended as other opposition leaders were also escorted out of the public hall.

Unknown provocateurs at the event, that was mostly attended by opposition supporters, also threw chairs at the stage and fired off two flares.

This led to a mass brawl between the attackers and the opposition supporters, The Star newspaper reported.

The incident occurred midway through the session on Sunday, when Dr Mahathir was on stage and answering a question from the floor.

Dr Mahathir earlier fired his usual salvos against PM Najib. The Premier had been invited to defend himself at the event in Shah Alam, the capital of Selangor state, but did not turn up.

A bottle was suddenly flung from the crowd towards the stage, The Star reported. The Malaysian Insight news site reported that shoes were thrown on stage.

The brawl continued outside the meeting hall.

Police later took away two men who were suspected of provoking the violence.