The meeting between Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his former deputy Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday was a politically desperate act, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the former premier's act of meeting his nemesis was insincere as it was done only to gain popularity with the Opposition.

"I appreciate what is done by Dr Mahathir, to meet Anwar. It shows his magnanimous heart, to meet his political rival," he told reporters today.

"But, the public sees this as an act of political desperation," he said.

Ahmad Zahid said although the National Security Act 2016 was close to the heart of the former UMNO president, the public saw the duo's meet yesterday as strictly political because Dr Mahathir desperately needed the support of the Opposition component parties to join him.

Dr Mahathir yesterday made a surprise visit to the courts to lend moral support to Anwar.

Anwar, who is serving a five-year sentence for sodomy, had filed an injunction to suspend the coming into force of the controversial NSC Act.

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is Anwar's wife, said this was the first meeting between the two former UMNO leaders after 18 years.

As for Dr Mahathir, he had said he was interested in the case as it involved national security.

Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak yesterday said the move was only to court Pakatan Harapan.

The UMNO treasurer said "Mahathir's kiss is a kiss of death' – like back in 1998, he 'shook Anwar's hand one day and destroyed him the next day'.

Meanwhile, MIC Youth chief C. Sivarraajh had labelled the infamous meeting as only to achieve Dr Mahathir's wish to topple Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

He said political expediency was at play and to the highest order.