Cash handouts will not make the Malays forget about the colossal sum found in Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's personal bank accounts, said Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"Najib thinks the Malays are stupid. (He) gives money directly to the Malays, (in hope that) they won't question what happened to the US$600 million (in the bank accounts).

"But Malays are not as stupid as Najib thinks. They already realise that the missing money belongs to them. The debts would be borne by them and their descendants," he said in a blog post.