The cabinet has agreed to appoint former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as adviser to national petroleum company Petronas, beginning April 1, according to Bernama .

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said Abdullah, who is fondly known as Pak Lah, will be replacing former Petronas adviser Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whose tenure was terminated by the cabinet on March 11.

Mahathir was terminated from the post due to his involvement in the Citizens’ Declaration, which called for Najib’s removal from office.

"The decision to terminate Mahathir's appointment was made by the cabinet because he no longer believes in the present government, specifically for launching the Citizens’ Declaration together with opposition leaders," Najib said.

The cabinet had then decided that since Mahathir no longer had faith in the government, he should no longer hold any posts in government-linked entities.

Mahathir and two others have since filed a legal suit against the prime minister for breach of fiduciary duties and misfeasance in public office.

In their statement of claim, the former prime minister said he was personally affected by Najib’s alleged abuses, and cited his removal from Petronas and the police investigations against him as examples.

Najib has denied the corruption allegations against him, and blamed Mahathir and those aligned with him of conspiring to topple him from power.

Mahathir also played an instrumental role in forcing the resignation of his handpicked successor Abdullah in 2009, six years after Abdullah replaced him.

Abdullah’s resignation paved the way for Najib to become prime minister.