Speaking at a press conference at the Perdana Leadership Foundation here today, the man dubbed Malaysia’s “father of modernisation”, said as it was, Kuala Lumpur was already much bigger than the whole of Singapore.

“We are not far behind Singapore.”

Mahathir blamed Prime Minister Najib Razak’s “poor administration” and “abuse of powers” for Malaysia not being ahead of Singapore by now.

Asked to comment on Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Aziz’s decision on Malaysia discontinuing to host the Formula One Grand Prix race in Sepang upon the expiry of the agreement in 2018, Mahathir said:

“Yes, they should demolish F1, Putrajaya and the (Petronas)Twin Towers. Let KL become flat.”

Nazri had justified his decision by saying that it had proved costly to host the race, which had not brought any returns for the country.

Instead, he said the MotoGP, which was more popular and more lucrative, would continue to be held at the F1 circuit.