Election watchdog Bersih has chastised Election Commission (EC) chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof for dismissing a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report claiming 1MDB funds were used in the 2013 general election.

It said the EC should be investigating the allegations themselves, instead of asking Bersih to do it.

"The EC, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and related institutions are duty-bound to act independently and initiate public investigation into the allegations made by a highly reputable public ation, the WSJ," the group said in a statement today.

They were responding to Aziz's remarks yesterday, asking Bersih to collect evidence and lodge a report if it believes the WSJ article had merit.

Bersih said it already gathered evidence on electoral misconduct during the 13th general election, but claimed the EC had ignored their findings.

"The EC should have acted on the People’s Tribunal report and by ignoring it, raised the question if they are condoning election irregularities," it added.

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

Following that, Bersih expressed its shock and demanded that Najib refute the report, or resign.