Lim said the recent court ruling had determined that the Equanimity was owned by 1MDB and by extension, the finance ministry and the federal government.

“He (Low) is out of his mind when no one, including himself, has challenged Malaysia’s right to ownership in court,” he told FMT.

Lim was responding to Low’s claim that no “sensible” person would buy the Equanimity since the ownership was “uncertain”.

Low claimed today that the Equanimity was owned by Equanimity (Cayman) Ltd. He said, however, he was “inevitably drawn into the media coverage over the yacht’s illegal seizure by the Malaysian government”.

In a short comment on the matter, de facto law minister Liew Vui Keong said in a text: “He should come back (and) claim ownership then.”

Low also said the Malaysian government’s failed attempt to sell the yacht was a public relations stunt.

On Aug 24, the Admiralty Court granted an application by the government as well as 1MDB and its two subsidiaries, 1MDB Energy Holdings Limited and 1MDB Global Investment Limited, to sell the Equanimity.

The government has obtained a court order for a minimum price tag of US$130 million (about RM543.7 million) for the yacht.

1MDB and the government obtained a court ruling that they were the rightful owners of the yacht as the registered owners did not turn up to contest the lawsuit.

The government said it had spent RM3.5 million to maintain the Equanimity since it arrived at Port Klang from Indonesia in August.

Lawyer S Sitpah, who is representing the government, had said earlier this week that they were entering into the second phase of the bid to sell Equanimity.

“The first phase received bids, but the bids were not of acceptable degree. Therefore, we have to move on to the second phase,” she said.

The second phase, Sitpah said, would be a normal sale through private negotiations.