In a rare move, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad appeared in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur today to attend his arch-rival Anwar Ibrahim's application to challenge the controversial National Security Council Act 2016 (NSC Act).

Mahathir was accompanied by PKR deputy president Azmin Ali and former Umno division leader Khairuddin Abu Hassan.

The move was seen by the others present in court as Mahathir giving moral support to Anwar, whom he sacked in 1998 as deputy prime minister, based on their common objective - both oppose the NSC Act.