KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak may have dodged a bullet last Friday when his highly-anticipated showdown with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was called off at zero hour but will likely be forced at some point this year to face his fiercest critic again, a political analyst said today.

University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute director James Chin said based on the current political climate, the face-off between the two men will be used to decide Najib’s future as prime minister

“It is my personal belief, there will be a confrontation in the second half of this year to decide whether Najib stays in power,” Chin told reporters after speaking at a Post GE-13 conference here.

Dr Mahathir has been extremely critical of Najib and his administration in recent times, especially over 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the troubled state-owned investment firm that has racked up a debt of over RM42 billion.

Last Friday, Dr Mahathir appeared at the “Nothing2 Hide” forum that Najib was supposed to attend to address public queries.

The forum had been expected to become a face-off between Najib and his chief critic but it was cancelled unexpectedly.

Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar ordered the event to be called off to preserve “public order”, and the Prime Minister’s Office later attributed Najib’s absence at the forum to the police’s advice and instruction over security concerns.

Critics have since condemned the police for disrupting and cancelling the event, saying that the authorities were aiming to silence public discussions on government scandals and literally save Najib from a humiliating confrontation with Dr Mahathir over 1MDB.

Organiser SukaGuam said the police ordered the event cancelled due to the group’s inability to handle the large number of attendees, while the IGP also denied that the cancellation was politically motivated.