PUTRAJAYA, May 17 — A man slapped Metrowealth Pictures (MiG) chief executive officer Datuk David Teo in front of the prime minister at a Transformasi Nasional session with the nation’s entertainers.

The scuffle took place when Teo took the microphone to criticise actor Rosyam Nor who was the moderator at the session.

Veteran actor Sulaiman Yassin rushed over to punch him in front of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Teo was telling Rosyam that instead of giving just the artistes sitting in front a chance to speak, he should allow the ones at the back the opportunity to be heard as well.

The duo were escorted out by security officials after the situation became tense in the hall at Seri Perdana.

Rosyam immediately apologised to Najib on behalf of the artists for the incident.

Both artists returned to the event hall at the end of the dialogue and shook hands with each other as well as Najib in a sign that the conflict was resolved.

When met after, Sulaiman or better known as Mat Over claimed that the incident was staged and there was no bad blood between him and Teo.

"The incident just now was just a gimmick. It is a part of today’s programme,” he said with a laugh.

Teo however claimed that he was not trying to provoke anyone by his queries.

He also claimed that it was not a gimmick and he did not know Sulaiman personally to play along with the act.

Teo instead said he wanted to speak to Najib on behalf of the artists at the back that wanted their aspirations to be heard.

"I was not given a chance to speak to the PM. I have no idea it was a gimmick. I don’t know him personally,” he told reporters when met after the event.

The TN50 event tonight was a round table discussion between Najib and the nation’s leading entertainers to find out their aspirations for the entertainment industry by 2050.