Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad said it is wrong for any party in Malaysia to spend over RM2 billion for an election.
This is even if no limit was to be placed on election expenses, said the 90-year-old veteran Umno leader in his latest blog posting.
Mahathir said in five elections he had led when he was premier, he needed less than RM10 million each.
"To the Umno division leaders and assorted bedfellows, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in closed-door meetings claimed the billions were meant for the elections.
"RM2 billion plus for elections is absurd. I needed less than RM10 million for each of the five elections I presided over and I won them all with more than two-thirds (majority).
"Why do you need RM2.6 billion plus [...] Is it to bribe politicians and civil servants, or to rig the elections?
"That would not be right, much less legal," he said.
He was referring to Najib's explanation to the Umno grassroots over the past week that the RM2.6 billion "donations" that he had held in his personal accounts were for party use.
Lavish lifestyle slammed again
The former premier also questioned Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor's lavish lifestyle for the second time.
Mahathir in April criticised the duo for the lavish wedding of their daughter Nooryana Najwa, sarcastically calling it the "wedding of the century".
Today in his blog posting, Malaysia's longest serving PM said no premier on his RM20,000 monthly salary would be able to afford such lavish affairs, even surpassing those of the rulers.
“Several ceremonies were held in Malaysia and also in Kazakhstan. Guests were loaded with gifts from the host.
“Clearly, millions, tens of millions were spent, far beyond what a Malaysian PM can afford.
Then, Mahathir trained his sights on Najib's stepson, who had invested hundreds of millions in the Hollywood film The Wolf of Wall Street .
“It (the film) is so obscene it cannot be shown in Malaysia. Where did the money come from?”
Mahathir further criticised the couple’s shopping sprees, allegedly in London, Paris, and elsewhere, which he claimed was known to have chalked up enormous bills.
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