The Election Commission (EC) has told electoral reform group Bersih to collect evidence and lodge a report if believes the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report on the use of 1Malaysia Development Bhd funds in the last general election has merit.

"Collect full and complete evidence and lodge a report with the police or the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission if there is any evidence of graft so that the authorities can investigate," EC chief Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof ( photo ) said.

He was responding to Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar's urging yesterday for the EC to probe the allegation and not make " further excuses " to justify the matter.

Aziz then went on to question why the election watchdog was still bringing up election irregularities two years after the 13th general election in 2013 as ample opportunity had been given to all parties to voice their protests through the court process.

More than 60 petitions related to the last general election were brought to court and given ample opportunity to make their case, he said.

Elections petitions filed thrown out

"Why are they still raising it, nearly three years after the general election?" Aziz is reported as saying by the The Malaysian Insider yesterday.

The electoral petitions were thrown out of the election court due to technical reasons.

WSJ reported that the debt-laden 1MDB fund was used to bankroll Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's campaign during last general election.

Following that, Bersih expressed its shock and demanded that Najib refutes the report, or resign is he cannot.

"This is totally outrageous and an abuse of power because brazen dirty tactics have been used to manipulate voters’ trust.

"It also raised the issue of whether this is just the tip of the iceberg . Are there any other government-controlled agency money used in a similar manner?" Bersih asked last Saturday.

The Prime Minister's Office has denied WSJ's claims.