“This is a lie that Tun Mahathir Mohamad has unsuccessfully used to try and unseat a democratically-elected government,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement today.

“He placed saving the political career of his son, Dato’ Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, above national interests.

“The prime minister has consistently maintained that the funds were a donation from the royal family of Saudi Arabia.

“After exhaustive investigations, this has been verified by multiple lawful authorities, most recently by the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia.”

This follows the recent statement by Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Al-Jubeir that the donation to Najib had indeed come from his country.

“(He) confirmed that it was a genuine donation, nothing was expected in return, and Saudi Arabia considers the matter closed.”