The government viewed seriously the civil suits filed by the United States (US) Department of Justice (DoJ), with regard to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said today.

The Prime Minister said it was in line with good governance which the government had always advocated.

"It should be noted that this is a civil suit and not a criminal action, and it is limited to the names mentioned in the DoJ report.

"So, in terms of the government, we will provide full cooperation to all the international investigating bodies," he told the media after attending Felda Group's Aidilfitri open house here.

Najib said the government's position had always been that it did not wish to see any act that violated the law.

He was commenting on the statement by US Attorney General Loretta Lynch yesterday that a number of individuals were found to have been abusing 1MDB funds to siphon off some money into their personal bank accounts.

Lynch also hoped that the misappropriated funds would be brought back to Malaysia.

Najib said those people involved would have their say through the court process in the US.

"It means an individual has the opportunity to defend himself (or herself) in accordance with the judicial process. We should not make any conclusions so long as the process is not completed yet," he said.

Commenting on his stepson Riza Aziz being named in the suit, he said "like anybody else he has his rights, and allow the process to take its course".

When asked whether this civil suit would affect Malaysia's ties with the US, he said it was a separate issue altogether, as this was relating to an individual and not the overall position of the two countries' policies.