The revival of claims surrounding the Bumiputera Malaysia Finance (BMF) scandal and linking it to former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad are attempts to divert attention from the 1MDB scandal, claims lawyer Haniff Khatri.

This "attack as the best mode of defence" tactic should not be used by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, Haniff, who is Mahathir's lawyer, said in a statement today.

"This tactic can be seen as attempts to erroneously link the BMF scandal issue with Mahathir, just because it was first exposed during his administration, even though it started before his time," he said.