KUALA LUMPUR, June 5 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was “not too happy” with the police’s decision to order the cancellation of the “Nothing2Hide” forum, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said today.

But Khalid insisted that his decision had to be made for the sake of security and harmony, confirming that he had informed Najib of the cancellation this morning.

“PM was not too happy with my decision but for safety and security reasons, as well as to preserve harmony, I had to make my stand and therefore cancelled the event.

“I hope every peace loving Malaysian understands,” the police chief was quoted telling news portal MalaysiaKini.

The news portal also reported Khalid saying that he had the responsibility to act in the interests of security, adding that he will release a media statement after Friday prayers today with details of the security concerns that prompted his decision.

Yesterday, the “Nothing2Hide” forum’s organiser confirmed that Najib will attend the event, but he did not appear.

The dialogue session which is organised and moderated by the Malaysian Volunteer Lawyers Association was expected to see over 1,500 participants from NGOs and civil society groups directing questions at Najib on his administration and leadership.

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad appeared at the forum today, but was stopped by the police midway through his speech on the 1MDB scandal.

The dialogue was expected to end up becoming a face-off between Najib and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who has been the prime minister’s harshest critic over the handling of 1MDB and other issues related to the former’s administration.