Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's purported defence of 1Malaysia Development Bhd's (1MDB) mammoth debt is akin to telling the rakyat to remain silent in the face of daylight robbery.

Former prime minister Dr Mahthir Mohamad said this today in reference to Najib's call to the people not to judge the debt-ridden 1MDB in the court of public opinion but to wait until the auditor-general's investigation into the matter is completed.

"Asking people not to ask any questions until after the auditor-general's report comes out is silly.

"It is like seeing someone robbing and the public must wait until the court case is over before talking about it," he said in his latest blog posting.

Mahathir also expressed doubts the auditor-general's report would shed any light on how 1MDB amassed a staggering RM42 billion in debt.

"Examining the accounts will reveal nothing. It will not explain the involvement of (Penang billionaire) Jho Low .

It will not explain how (Najib's step-son) Riza Aziz has so much money at the time when 1MDB money disappeared," said Mahathir.

He added that the audit is also unlikely to explain 'funny transactions' with PetroSaudi International and offshore banks in Seychelles, Hong Kong and Cayman Islands.

"Then the money from Cayman was brought back and deposited in Singapore. Now the bank says no money has been deposited with it," reminded Mahathir.

Set up commission call

He added the best way to deal with 1MDB now is to set up a commission.

"The members of which should not be chosen by the government to scrutinise every act of 1MDB.

"This is because it is basically going to investigate not just 1MDB but also the government, which has clearly failed to oversee the affairs of 1MDB," he said.

Last Sunday, Najib ( photo ) released a Frequently Asked Questions ( FAQ ) on his blog to address several issues raised by Mahathir including 1MDB.

"We expect the preliminary report of the auditor-general to be published soon.

"In the meantime, please don't speculate and make conclusions without information that will be presented by the auditor-general," appealed Najib, who is also finance minister.