Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak will be missed in Australia, says the country's former premier Tony Abbott.

"Najib was a good friend of Australia and a voice of decency and common sense at international gatherings.

"On the big questions he got much right and his time in government saw strong and effective cooperation between our countries.

"Australia will miss him even if, right now, his own people might not," Abbott tweeted on May 9.

Abbott – who was in office from 2013 to 2015, had most notably worked with Najib during the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in 2014.

Najib was ousted from power in Wednesday's polls, which saw BN suffer its first ever defeat in 61 years.