November 14, 2017, 02:40 PM 
The war of words between Prime Minister Najib Razak and former PM Mahathir Mohamad has kicked up a notch.
On Nov. 12, two Malaysian news outlets, Berita Harian and Utusan Melayu, published similar stories on the "lavish lifestyle" led by Mahathir's granddaughter, Meera Alyanna Mukhriz.
Meera is the daughter of Mahathir's son Mukhriz, a businessman and politician.
The report was based on a post shared by a Facebook group called Sudahlah Mahathir (Enough already, Mahathir), which you can see below:
The post includes several photographs taken from Meera's Instagram account (which has since been made private), showing her relaxing on a luxury yacht, skiing, and shopping in Europe.
Screenshot taken from Sudahlah Mahathir Facebook group.
Screenshot taken from Sudahlah Mahathir Facebook group.
Screen shot from Sudahlah Mahathir Facebook group.
Politics, it's all politics
Berita Harian and Utusan Melayu are noted supporters of the governing Barisan National coalition, headed by Najib.
Whereas both Mahathir and his son Mukhriz have joined a new political party, the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Malaysian United Indigenous Party or PPBM), and are expected to contest the upcoming general election against Najib.
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In a press conference on Nov. 13, Mahathir criticised these articles and got in a dig at Najib instead.
"One of the reports cited an anonymous blog implying that the wealth was stolen from the public. As far as I’m concerned, money stolen from the public is (an issue) with the person in leadership, (and he is) not associated with us."
What about Najib's stepson Riza Aziz?
Mahathir's daughter, Marina Mahathir, said that the articles were an attempt by the papers to distract from another story about Najib's stepson Riza Aziz.
According to Malaysiakini, which quoted a report supposedly filed by the US Department of Justice, Riza allegedly bought luxury properties in London, Beverly Hills and New York City with funds misappropriated from 1MDB.
This latest round of tit-for-tat comes after Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced on Nov. 12 that the general election will take place in no later than 180 days.
We can expect more of such accusations as the election season revs up into full gear.
Top image from Sudahlah Mahathir's Facebook group.
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