Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak today advised the people to cease making assumptions over the US Department of Justice civil lawsuits alleging misappropriation of funds from 1MDB.

He said they should remain patient and wait for the completion of the process related to the suits.

"United States lawyers will conduct investigations. We have to wait. The government will not protect anyone. The guilty will have to be penalised," he told reporters when approached at the Aidilfitri open house of the ministry in Putrajaya.

Salleh said the Malaysian government had extended cooperation for the investigation.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission had provided all the necessary information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

"However, there are too many assumptions and interpretations. This is unfair to all quarters, including those who have been named (in the civil lawsuits)," he said.

The minister said that as citizens of an independent country, the people should be more flexible in their thinking and not accept in toto whatever is contained in just one or two reports.

"A variety of matters have been mentioned in the (DOJ) report, and the attorney-general had said that it is not final and requires investigation," he said.

The DOJ had recently filed civil lawsuits to seize assets it said were acquired with money allegedly misappropriated from 1MDB, the government investment fund.

- Bernama