The government has again been slammed for its lackadaisical approach to the billion-ringgit 1MDB scandal, when other countries have already taken action.

Worse still, said Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua, the fact that it took the government approximately three months to act against Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's graft charges reeks of “double standards”.

“(Compared to 1MDB), the investigation into Lim started with a report to MACC on March 18, 2016.

“Investigation papers were submitted to the attorney-general in May and an arrest by MACC was made in June.

“It took MACC just two months to investigate, and the AG just one month to decide on prosecution despite Lim Guan Eng having presented evidence to the contrary of the charges.

“Why don’t we see this level of efficiency when it comes to scandals involving tens of billions of ringgit, which implicated even the prime minister and his family?” Pua asked in a statement today.

He was responding to Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Razali Ibrahim, who urged patience with regard to the ongoing investigation into 1MDB.

"In Chinese, we say man man lah, man man (slowly, slowly).

“We will wait for the (outcome of the) matter, which is under investigation...

"God willing, the truth will be revealed," Razali told the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday.

Pua noted that in contrast, the first police reports filed against 1MDB were made in 2014.

In June 2015, the home minister told Parliament that investigation papers had been referred to the AG that March. 

“That was over two years ago, and the AG and the police are still passing investigation papers between each other,” he said.

“The government treating 1MDB as a joke just shows how ridiculously selective investigations in Malaysia are.

“It is obnoxious to expect Malaysians to wait even longer for a decision on a case involving multi-billion dollars that’s already been ongoing for years.

“Worse, other countries have already investigated, charged and even jailed perpetrators involved in the 1MDB, while Malaysian authorities continue to drag their feet on the matter.

“How much slower does the deputy minister expect investigations to slow down to?” asked the DAP national publicity secretary.

This July, former BSI Singapore wealth planner Yeo Jiawei was sentenced to 54 months' jail after he pleaded guilty to money laundering and cheating charges linked to 1MDB.

Last year, the US Department of Justice launched a series of forfeiture suits against expenditures it claimed had been made using funds allegedly linked to 1MDB, in what it called the biggest anti-kleptocracy crackdown.

Meanwhile, AG Mohamed Apandi Ali has cleared Prime Minister Najib Razak of wrongdoing.