Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla said Mahathir’s officers would contact him if police wanted to question the veteran statesman.

“So far, there has been no call from his office and I presume the police have not met Mahathir to record his statement as part of their investigation,” he told FMT when asked for an update on the matter.

He added that Mahathir had been questioned by police four times over the last two years in the presence of lawyers, and had assisted investigators as required under the law.

Speaking at a rally at Padang Timur in October, Mahathir had criticised Prime Minister Najib Razak, calling him a “descendent of Bugis pirates”.

The Selangor Royal Council subsequently called for Mahathir to be investigated under the Sedition Act or any other appropriate law over his remark.

Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah said after discussions with members of the council, he viewed with utmost seriousness, anger and disappointment the speech of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman, which appeared to incite the people to hate, show contempt and negatively perceive the Bugis.

He also said the allegation had directly insulted the ancestral roots of the Selangor sultanate, which was founded by the Bugis.

Selangor police chief Mazlan Mansor said investigation papers had been opened.

At the time, Haniff said his client was prepared to be questioned, but without compromising his right to explain to the court in the case of a prosecution.

He also said Mahathir had explained his use of the ethnic group’s name when criticising Najib, whose family has Bugis ancestry.

He added that Mahathir had used the term to criticise Najib only, not the community.

Mahathir had said it was Najib who first declared himself a “Bugis warrior” in a speech in June.

The 92-year-old left Umno last year and withdrew support for Najib following the alleged theft of money from state investment arm 1MDB.