In a Facebook post, the former prime minister pointed to the economic differences between the two countries, saying Malaysia would not suffer the same fate as Sri Lanka.

“The situation in Sri Lanka is very different from Malaysia but PH will use this as an opportunity to deceive, frighten and incite the people,” he said.

Najib said Sri Lanka lacked foreign currency reserves to purchase imported goods and settle its foreign currency debts.

“Sri Lanka’s debt in foreign currencies is US$51 billion while it has a foreign currency reserve of just US$2.4 billion.

“In comparison, Malaysia’s debt in foreign currencies is US$6 billion while its foreign currency reserves amount to US$116 billion.

“How can Malaysia become bankrupt like Sri Lanka?”

Sri Lanka is experiencing its worst-ever economic crisis, which has sparked public unrest. The issue came to a boil when protesters stormed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s official residence in Colombo over the weekend.

He has since fled the country and submitted his resignation, and is reported to be in Singapore on a “visit”.

The country has suffered through months of food and fuel shortages, lengthy blackouts and rising inflation after running out of foreign currency to import essential goods.

Yesterday, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang said Malaysia should heed the lessons of Sri Lanka or risk becoming a “failed state”.

He said Malaysia’s worsening corruption, large-scale financial scandals and deviations from the New Economic Policy were among the mistakes the country needed to correct.