A deputy minister has demanded that Azmin Ali apologise to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak for urging him to confess his alleged role in the 1MDB scandal.

Deputy Transport Minister Ab Aziz Kaprawi said the Selangor menteri besar is practising double standards, citing his silence on Lim Guan Eng's corruption charges.

"I urge that Azmin retract his July 21 statement and openly apologise to Najib as well as express his regret immediately," Aziz said in a Facebook posting today.

In a statement issued last Thursday, Azmin said Najib should come clean on his involvement with 1MDB, as the matter is now under investigation by the US Department of Justice (DOJ).

"But there was not even one statement from Azmin asking Lim to come forward and admit culpability, as he did to our democratically-elected PM," said Aziz.

The DAP secretary-general was charged in court on June 30 with two counts of corruption involving the purchase of a Jalan Pinhorn bungalow and the rezoning of a parcel of land in the state.

'Forfeiture suit not against any person'

Defending Najib, the deputy minister said the DOJ asset forfeiture suit was not filed against any person, but against the proceeds of a movie produced by a US-based production house.

Aziz added that those named in the suit were Najib's stepson Riza Aziz, controversial tycoon Jho Low and two officers from Aabar Investment PJS.

He stressed that Najib's name was not mentioned in the suit.

He also repeated claims that civil proceedings do not carry criminal allegations, and were the result of reports lodged by certain parties accusing 1MDB of money laundering.

Aziz joins the ranks of Umno leaders who have defended Najib against claims that he is involved in alleged money laundering activities linked to 1MDB.

They argue that the proceedings do not mention Najib by name, but his critics have noted similarities between the prime minister and the 'Malaysian Official 1' mentioned in the DOJ filings.

Malaysian Official 1's dates and account transactions mirror that of the prime minister's personal bank accounts.

Najib has admitted that one of these transactions was a donation from the Saudi Arabian royal family.

Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali has cleared Najib of all wrongdoings linked to 1MDB.