Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad lampooned Prime Minister Najib Razak, saying a movie can be made out of the escalating scandal over 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), adding that the corruption at the state fund has made the country infamous internationally.
Meanwhile, a pro-Najib publication dared Mahathir to follow up on his accusations against the prime minister.
Mahathir wrote in a blog post that Malaysia has never witnessed a more messy scandal than the 1MDB corruption.
"The people, who find it difficult to imagine the scale of RM1 million (S$345,000), are attempting to imagine how much is RM1 billion, RM42 billion. The rakyat is confused with stories of so much money going all over the world," he added.
"A movie can be made on 1MDB, the figures involved and various locations around the world (where 1MDB-linked funds allegedly flowed to)," Mahathir, the country's longest serving prime minister, wrote.
Many countries including Singapore, Hong Kong, Switzerland, UK and the United Arab Emirates are investigating into the money trail linked to the corruption at the Malaysian state investment fund.
"Now, there will be more tourists coming to the 1MDB country," said the veteran leader, who fell out of good relations with his protégée Najib.
However, Najib's supporters took the fight to Mahathir, challenging him to file an injunction against the government over the alleged bribery in the Bantuan Rakyat 1 Malaysia programme (BR1M).
Pro-government portal MyKMU.net dared Mahathir to legally follow up his allegations of bribery at the state welfare programme.
"Do you apply for bribery ... Come on lah, seven million received (BR1M), not even one (lodged a report) ... Those who talk a lot about BR1M being a form of corruption like Mahathir are also the same, they talk but no reports are filed," the publication said, according to Malaysiakini.
Mahathir had alleged that the BR1M was a platform for political corruption where Najib could dole out cash payouts to win support.
