Dr Mahathir Mohamad has joined the chorus of skepticism on claims that RM2.6 billion was "donated" to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

"Who in the world would donate US$700 million to the Malaysian prime minister?

"Even Obama could not raise this amount for his presidential bid. It was suggested it was an Arab.

"Arabs are generous, but not that generous," wrote Mahathir on his blog.

Mahathir ( photo ), who himself is highly influential in the Middle East, said the "donation" claim is what people describe as "hogwash or bulls**t."

"Certainly I don't believe it and neither can the majority of Malaysians if we go by the comments on the social media. The world had a good laugh," he said.

The former premier also said that he could not get a single dollar from the Arabs when he wanted to set up International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) or for the Oxford Islamic Centre.

Claims that the RM2.6 billion came from the Middle East first surfaced in a leaked video of axed deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin retelling his conversation with Najib about the money.

Muhyiddin ( photo ) later clarified that Najib did not reveal the name of the donor, saying only that he was Middle-Eastern and had instructed Najib to accept the RM2.6 billion in his private accounts.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said it has already interviewed this unnamed Middle-Eastern donor, and plans to quiz Najib about it soon.

Najib however claimed that the MACC has already cleared him of corruption.

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