KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional secretary-general Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz has agreed that the coalition lost the 14th general election due to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.

“I agree with YB Khairy (Khairy Jamaluddin). The scandal happened and the Cabinet only knew about all the decisions after the issue exploded in the media,” said the former Culture and Tourism Minister.

Nazri was asked to comment on Khairy’s statement refuting claims that Barisan Nasional lost in the 14th General Elections due to fraud.

In a tweet, Khairy simply wrote, “We lost because of 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Berhad). The end. (sic)”

In the tweet, he also attached a news report from an English daily where former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was quoted saying that BN lost because of “fraud, defamation and false promises made by Pakatan Harapan.”

The report also quoted Najib as saying there was nothing wrong with Umno and Barisan Nasional.

After Khairy's tweet, Najib's staunch supporter Lokman Noor Adam went on to lambast Khairy in an escalating war of words within Umno.

Umno supreme council member Lokman claimed that Khairy was to blame for Umno losing power, saying that he turned on Najib and demanded his resignation right after GE14, instead of giving the latter the chance to form a unity government.

Nazri, who is the Padang Rengas MP, said that Cabinet members were previously informed that 1MDB issue could be solved.

“That is why we defended it. We also did not find out until the issue was out in the news and became bigger in public.

“We lost not because people rejected us, but because of 1MDB,” he said.

He said the matter is no longer a political issue as it has been brought to court.

“We cannot be in denial."