KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — Continuing to trade barbs, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has told Lim Kit Siang to say sorry and cease linking kleptocracy to any religion that is not his own, especially Islam.

In a Facebook post today, the former prime minister shared several screenshots of the DAP MP’s statement, saying the latter clearly implied that Islam would equal kleptocracy should Barisan Nasional (BN) win the Sungai Kandis by-election.

"If this is not what he means then what does he mean by making this link? Was there even a need for him to make such a link out of the blue in the first place?” the Pekan MP asked.

"Kit Siang should just apologise and no longer attempt to make such a link to Islam or to any religion that is not his own,” he added.

Despite the retort, Najib said he does not wish to prolong the issue, insisting that BN "has been focused on running a clean, healthy and peaceful campaigning” there.

"Unlike others, we do not have to resort to bribing voters with free durian or illegally using school facilities for campaigning however, Kit Siang's ridiculous attempt to link Islam with kleptocracy is very regrettable,” he claimed.

His statement was prefaced with a disclosure that it was written in English since Lim had accused him of not understanding the language.

Lim had said that "a school student with ordinary mental and intellectual capabilities would not make such a colossal blunder” as Najib allegedly did.

Najib had previously claimed that Lim was equating Islam to kleptocracy in a statement that the latter had issued, and also said that Lim had "crossed boundaries in doing so”.

In a reply earlier, Lim stressed that the objective of his statement was that Islam should not be equated with kleptocracy.