Several cabinet ministers appear "jittery" and are becoming hysterical in their attempts to defend Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, said DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang.

Lim said that the recent reactions of several of Najib's closest allies in the cabinet to the US Department of Justice's (DOJ) latest court filings on the 1MDB affair were much more intense than when the civil forfeiture suits were first filed last year.

"(The reasons why they are) jitterier and more hysterical to the updated and expanded DOJ action than the initial DOJ suit eleven months ago was the realisation that the latest DOJ action could unravel Najib's general election plans and undermine BN's electoral prospects," said Lim in a statement today.

Lim noted that Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein was "unusually silent" when the DOJ filed its first suit last July, but was now challenging the DOJ to press charges.

On Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak's claim that DOJ's suit was tantamount to interference with Malaysia's sovereignty, Lim said that this was an "inane claim".

Lim said that the duo, along with their colleague Abdul Rahman Dahlan, appears to be scrambling to show who was more "loyal" to Najib.

"The question is when will the other Umno ministers and chieftains join in the chorus of loyalty to Najib?

"Will the leaders from the other BN parties, apart from Umno be joining in the chorus of loyalty to Najib?" asked Lim.

Lim also trained his sights on MCA and questioned whether the three MCA cabinet ministers would take a "principled stand" on the 1MDB affair.

"Or, will all the three MCA Ministers prefer keeping their ministerial positions to taking a  principled stand on public integrity and good governance?" he asked.

Last Thursday, the DOJ filed a third court document as part of their efforts to seize assets worth US$1.7 billion which were allegedly bought with funds misappropriated through 1MDB.

Following this, 1MDB said they were not contacted by the DOJ and denied that their funds were misappropriated. Attorney-general Apandi Ali also expressed frustrations with the DOJ's "insinuations" against Malaysian leaders.

When asked about the DOJ filing today, Najib said he had nothing to add and implied that he will not be taking legal action.