The former head of the Malaysian chapter of Transparency International, Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim, has criticised the NGO's international president for targeting Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak over his RM2.6 billion scandal.

In particular, Tunku Abdul Aziz, who is also in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) advisory board, took issue with TI president José Ugaz's statement that Malaysia was facing a crisis of corruption.

"I think this statement is ill-advised and ill-informed.

"It is just an opinion which is based on unconfirmed reports," Tunku Aziz ( photo ) told journalists at the 16th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) in Putrajaya today.

Tunku Abdul Aziz's remarks were uploaded on the MACC's channel on YouTube.

International anti-graft figures had descended on Putrajaya since yesterday for the high-profile three-day conference where Ugaz delivered the scathing speech during its opening ceremony.

Give balanced view by asking people

Tunku Abdul Aziz insisted that Ugaz's view was only one side of the story.

"It was a one-sided statement.

"He should have taken the trouble to give a balanced view by asking people who are informed about this," he added.

Najib was scheduled to deliver the keynote opening speech at the conference but was advised by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Paul Low ( photo ), who was also a former TI-M president, against doing so due to his scandal.

The prime minister is facing calls for resignation over his handling of 1MDB which is struggling to repay its US$11 billion debt and also the deposits of RM2.6 billion into his personal bank accounts.

Najib had denied using public funds for personal gain while his supporters claimed the money was a "political donation".

On the second day of the IACC today, Najib faced further criticism , including from the conference's council member Michael Hershman, who had advised Putrajaya on anti-corruption matters between 2011 and 2013.

“My advice to the Malaysian prime minister is not to cover up, not to obstruct justice because it doesn’t work," Hershman said.