In their response, Malaysian government officials accused Khairuddin of lodging “false and politically motivated police reports” and pushing the same agenda as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who has been insistent in his calls for Najib to step down.

“He could also be arrested if he left the country”.

“If he leaves the country, he may be arrested”, said the long-serving former PM in his speech at the ‘Kumpulan Melayu Berani Bersatu’ in Kuala Lumpur, according to the video clip.

At the restaurant meeting, Mahathir said domestic laws applied to crimes which were committed locally, but if a crime had some connection with a foreign country, that nation has power (to investigate and prosecute).

Joint investigations by the Police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), and Bank Negara were launched to probe the matter while Najib, who is also Finance Minister, claimed innocence while threatening to sue WSJ over the report.

He gave the example of an arrest warrant on Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir issued by the worldwide Criminal Court to stand trial on various charges such as genocide.

On Tuesday, Switzerland’s federal prosecutor said Malaysia had agreed to arrange for Swiss officials to interview witnesses in their investigation of alleged money laundering and corruption related to 1MDB.

Nurul Izzah Anwar said the allegations – given prominence in Malaysia’s government-controlled media – were an attempt to “vilify and to tarnish me” to deflect attention from Mr Najib.

Mr Najib has come under intense criticism over the financial scandals surrounding state investment vehicle 1Malaysia Development Berhad and for receiving RM2.6 billion (S$861.4 million) in political donations.
”That is only a possibility based on the current worldwide law”, he added.

1MDB’s advisory board is chaired by Prime Minister Najib Razak.

In February, Najib’s United Malays National Organisation ousted Khairuddin from the party after he was declared bankrupt.

He insisted that he only acted in the country’s best interests.

Lawyer Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali said Khairuddin’s main aim in lodging the report was so authorities could investigate the authenticity of the media reports.

In July, the Wall Street Journal reported that 1MDB transferred $700 million dollars into bank accounts of the prime minister.