Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak says he will bear a “great sin” if 1MDB funds used to sponsor haj pilgrimages were not clean.

He said this in rebutting allegations by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad that the 1MDB pilgrimage funds were from stolen monies.

"Mahathir is mistaken to claim that money 1MDB used to sponsor thousands of haj pilgrims were stolen proceeds.

"Mahathir often claimed 1MDB funds are stolen. How then did 1MDB steal its own money to enable sponsoring haj pilgrims?

"Pilgrims sponsored by 1MDB need not be worried, because the funds used to help them perform this fifth pillar of Islam is from a halal (clean) source, because I will bear a great sin if it is otherwise," Najib said in a Facebook posting today.

He also said that he was saddened that poor Malaysian Muslims who needed aid to perform the haj would no longer receive such assistance from the government.

Yesterday, Mahathir in an apparent jibe at the Yayasan 1MDB programme, said the government would no longer be sending people to perform their haj pilgrimage on stolen money.

1MDB's haj programme began in 2011, with 111 individuals sent for their pilgrimages. To date, a total of 6,911 people have been sponsored for the pilgrimages to Mecca.

Najib and his associates have accused of misappropriating funds from the state-owned 1MDB.

Najib has denied any wrongdoing or taking public funds for personal gain.