KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 ― Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad can only fault himself if he believes Malaysia has repressive laws that curb civil rights and liberties, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said.

The tourism minister said the former prime minister was responsible for laying the foundation of Malaysia's existing policies on human rights and freedom of expression.

“We inherited whatever laws that were passed during his time. So, if he is criticising us now, he should look at himself in the mirror,” Nazri told Malay Mail Online in an interview.

“The foundation was laid out during his time, he (Dr Mahathir) didn't listen to any voices back then on reforms,” the Padang Rengas MP explained.

Yesterday the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said it is “unacceptable” for Dr Mahathir to demand freedom of speech from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak as the former was responsible for creating the repressive environment Malaysia’s media and civil societies currently live in.

HRW Asia Director Brad Adams added that the criminalisation of dissent in Malaysia became systemic from when Dr Mahathir, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, was in power.

“Najib in a way is (a) child of Dr Mahathir’s, the tactics are systemic. The laws and intervention are on the books, waiting to be used when the time is right.

“Which is why I poked at Dr Mahathir earlier, he is the father of this and for him to stand up in public and complain that there is a lack of free speech or a lack of democracy is really unacceptable.

“He should just be quiet and he should let other people go to the forefront to discuss these very serious issues,” Adams said during the release of the HRW report titled “Creating a Culture of Fear: the Criminalisation of Peaceful Expression in Malaysia” on Tuesday.

Dr Mahathir has been among the most vocal critics of 1Malaysia Development Berhad in the Barisan Nasional and has demanded Najib take responsibility for his brainchild, which is under investigation in the US, UK,  Hong Kong, Switzerland and Singapore.

The 90-year-old retired prime minister had also joined in the two-day Bersih 4 rally in Kuala Lumpur, and urged Malaysians to use their “people power” to push for Najib’s removal through a no-confidence vote in Parliament.

He has criticised Putrajaya for its use of an anti-terrorism law to detain two critics of 1MDB and accused the government of abusing the law to silence dissenters.

However Dr Mahathir’s tenure was also marked by oppressive moves like the jailing of his then deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Ops Lalang, a security crackdown purportedly over fears of racial clashes stemming from allegations of interference in Chinese vernacular education.

But Ops Lalang was later perceived as a move to quash political dissent as over 100 mainly-opposition figures were detained.

In an interview with UK daily The Guardian last week, Dr Mahathir admitted to committing “undemocratic” acts in his time, but insisted that his actions differed from the current administration’s, which he claimed to be abusive.